


Of Course It's Fairies

by HelloWhyTheFuckAmIHere



Series: Shut Up and Help Us [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Alpha Derek, Alpha Scott, Alpha Talia Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Stiles, Cuddling & Snuggling, Derek Feels, Derek Hale & Lydia Martin Friendship, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Developing Relationship, Emissary Stiles Stilinski, F/M, First Kiss, Fix-It, Fluff, Full Shift Werewolves, Getting Together, Hale Family Feels, Kid Fic, M/M, Mates, Minor Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Minor Isaac Lahey/Original Male Character, Minor Lydia Martin/Cora Hale/ Jackson Whittemore, Minor Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Minor Peter Hale/Original Male Character, Minor Sheriff Stilinski/Claudia Stilinski - Freeform, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Oblivious Derek, Oblivious Stiles, Post-Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, Puppy Piles, Resurrection, Reunions, Sharing a Bed, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Slow Burn, Spark Stiles Stilinski, They deserved better, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, domestic sterek - Freeform, fight me, hale pack feels, post season 3B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-10-14 11:51:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 54
Words: 100,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10535889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloWhyTheFuckAmIHere/pseuds/HelloWhyTheFuckAmIHere
Summary: While still suffering from the after effects of the Nogitsune, Stiles and the pack stumble upon and save a trapped fairy.  The boy's parents, not wanting to be in the pack’s debt, offer each member of the pack who assisted in the rescue, the opportunity to bring a loved one back from the dead.Having been blissfully reunited with several of their once-lost friends and family members, everyone must work together to figure out how to function as a new pack, and how to defeat a new incoming threat.[I did not include the Fae & Fairies tag because after the first three chapters or so, they do not really play a large part in the fic, so I didn't want to mislead anyone!]





	1. It's not back, I am myself

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Of Course It's Fairies (traduccion)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14988005) by [yuki_yuki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_yuki/pseuds/yuki_yuki)



Of course it’s fairies, Stiles thought bitterly.  It’s not enough that he was dragged out of his bed in the middle of the night when he felt that one of the wards Deaton had him put up in the Preserve had been triggered, but now he was messed up in fae drama.    
   
Setting aside the practical part of his brain that was telling himself to shut up because he wasn’t sleeping anyway, Stiles turned his attention to the clearly frightened creature in his line of sight.   Trapped in what appeared to be a Witches Ruse was a young man who could have easily been mistaken for human were it not for his slightly pointed ears and traditional fae garb.   He looked to be no older than Stiles, with pale skin that almost glowed in the moonlight, honey brown hair, and eyes that flickered violet on and off as if he was fiercely clinging to whatever control he had left.    
   
This particular Witches Ruse looked to be a perfect circle, no more than five feet in diameter.  Carefully laid stones marked the outline of the circle, each with a different rune carved into it.  Thanking all the deities he could remember in his sleep-addled state for the nearly full moon that allowed him to see what he was dealing with, Stiles approached the fairy cautiously while surreptitiously sending an SOS to the pack group text.  If the witch was still around, Stiles didn’t want to risk a confrontation while he was alone and still weak from what the Nogit - from what had happened only a few months prior.  
   
“Hello,” he ventured quietly, afraid to speak too loudly and startle the fairy.  “My name is Stiles.”  
   
“That’s not a name,” the fairy replied tersely with eyebrows so furrowed, they looked like they could battle Derek’s for dominance and, well not win but maybe tie.  
   
Oh, great.  An asshole.  Stiles was so not in the mood to deal with attitude, especially not from someone he was probably about to save, thank you very much.  
   
“Thanks,” Stiles replied dryly, only just managing not to roll his eyes.  “And as much as I’d love to hear what you would have to say about my real name, why don’t you just do us both a favor and tell me who you are and how you got into this mess.”  
   
The boy grunted and pursed his lips, clearly weighing his options.  Which were none.  With a big sigh, he turned to face Stiles fully and bit out, “My name is Pahn.  I was walking through the woods when I heard chanting.  I must have startled a witch, because the next thing I know, I’m being thrown into this clearing and now I can’t seem to move.”  As he spoke his face became softer, worry etching into his features and his violet eyes giving way to his natural green.  
   
“Well don’t worry, my pack is on their way.  It probably took Lydia all of three minutes to track my location.  They should be here soon and we’ll have you out of there in no time.  Are you hurt at all?”  Stiles moved towards the Witches Ruse, stopping just short of the boundary stones.  The last thing he needed was to get caught inside.  Isaac would never let him hear the end of it if he did.  
   
“Your pack?  But you’re not a werewolf.”  Pahn squinted, as if that would help him get a better reading off of Stiles.  “You’re not totally human though.”  
   
Stiles staggered backwards a few steps and went rigid at that, his veins going ice cold until he remembered it was his spark that Pahn was talking about, not the Nogi – the other thing.    
   
It’s not back, I am myself.  It’s not back, I am myself.  It’s not back, I am myself.  Stiles repeated his mantra in his head until his breathing returned to normal and the tension started to seep back out of his shoulders.    
   
Pahn waited, confused at the severe reaction his words had caused, until Stiles spoke.  
   
“No, I’m a spark.  There are only three wolves in the pack, actually.  Then there’s a banshee, a kitsune, a werecoyote, a Peter, and an ex-kanima, though I guess the last two count as werewolves, too.  So five, I guess there are five, but who really counts Jackson anyway.  Douchewolf,” Stiles trailed off towards the end, muttering to himself about ungrateful scaly douchebags and their perfect strawberry blonde goddess girlfriends until Pahn was not so much terrified of his current predicament as he was questioning the sanity of his present company.  
   
They were both shaken out of their thoughts by the sudden crack of twigs and telltale rustling of leaves that Stiles had come to associate with Scott running anywhere.  One of these days when Stiles had his energy and strength back, he was going to teach that boy how to be more covert.    
   
“STILES!  STILES!  STI -  oh, there you are.”  Scott was panting by the time he reached the center of the clearing.  He moved towards Pahn, putting his own body between him and Stiles instinctively.  
   
“Hey, buddy,” Stiles said clapping Scott on the back and moving to stand next to him.  Stiles ignored the slight twitch in Scott’s back at the contact.  “Gotta work on that cardio before lacrosse starts up again, don’t we?  And what were you thinking, bursting in here like that?  Tsk tsk, not very stealthy.”  
   
Scott looked down, embarrassed.  “Thought you were in trouble.  Wasn’t thinking,” he mumbled.  
   
“I know.  I love you too, Scotty.”  Stiles smiled as Scott perked up.  If he had a tail, it would definitely have been wagging.  
   
“He’s right, you know.”    
   
Both Stiles and Scott jumped and turned around, Scott squatting low with his fangs and claws out ready to fight the new threat.  His red eyes shone brightly even with the moon casting so much light on the clearing already.  
   
Stiles put his hand over his heart when he identified the intruder.  “Derek!  Yes, that,” he turned back to Scott while gesturing wildly towards Derek, “Is how you make an entrance.  And we’re going to talk about how you just said I was right later,” Stiles mumbled in Derek’s direction.  To his surprise, the corners of Derek’s mouth twitched.  
   
Derek shook his head and looked back towards Scott.  His eyes flashed red as he took a step forward.  “You need to learn the difference between when to rush into a situation, and when to step back and evaluate before you get involved.  Stiles was able to send us a text to meet him, which meant he probably wasn’t in immediate danger.  If he was, he would have just hit the panic button Danny installed in all our phones.  In this situation, it’s better to take a quieter approach so you can assess the problem before you jump right in.”  
   
Stiles looked up at Derek (somewhere in the back of his mind he processed that he didn’t have to look up as much as he used to – when did he and Derek become almost the same height?) with his mouth agape. “That might be the most words I’ve ever heard you say in a row.  Look at you, teaching the baby wolves.  You’re all grown up, Stealthywolf.”  Stiles beamed as Derek rolled his eyes.  
   
“Don’t call me that,” Derek huffed while he turned to face Pahn.  “Who is this?”  
   
“Fine, Sourwolf.”  Stiles smirked as he saw Isaac, Lydia, and to his surprise, Chris Argent, emerge from the trees.  “Everybody, this is Pahn.  He pissed off a witch and now he needs our help.”  
   
“I didn’t piss off a witch, I just kind of… startled one?”  Pahn sighed, his eyes raking over the six strangers now in front of him.  His gaze paused on Isaac for a few seconds longer than Stiles liked, but Stiles had been a little more protective of his pack lately.  “See, witches don’t particularly like the fae, and they really don’t seem to like my family.  My parents warned me not to go out into the Preserve alone at night, but I haven’t been allowed to leave my home in weeks because of their paranoia and I was getting kind of restless.  Do you really think you can get me out of here?”  
   
“I really think we’re gonna try.”  Stiles put on what Isaac liked to call his Spark Face that he only used when handling official magic business and made his way around the circle slowly, stopping to examine each new stone as he passed them.    
   
Stiles could hear Derek giving orders for Chris, Scott, and Isaac to check the perimeter for the witch while he and Lydia stayed behind to help Stiles with the Witches Ruse.  Pahn murmured something under his breath when Isaac turned to walk away that Stiles didn’t hear, but it turned the tips of Isaac’s ears a rosy pink. Stiles knew Derek was mostly sending the others away to give him a little privacy.  Doing magic, even magic as simple as breaking a small ruin, wasn’t something Stiles did around the pack if he could help it.  He didn’t want to be looked at as anything other than 100% human.  Even though the pack had assured him they could tell the difference between Spark Stiles and Void Stiles, there was still the lingering doubt that he couldn’t seem to shake.  If it weren’t for all the benefits having a spark brought to the pack, Stiles wouldn’t have even pursued magical training with Deaton after the fox spirit was ejected from his body.    
   
Lydia and Derek stood side by side watching Stiles evaluate the ruins, waiting for the sign for them to go help him.  Stiles could tell Lydia was still half asleep when he saw her lean slightly into Derek.  Derek draped his arm around her shoulder, allowing her to put more weight on him and close her eyes.  After Lydia lost both Allison and Aiden, it was Derek who somehow was able to help her the most.  Their friendship came out of nowhere and Stiles would even be a little jealous of how close they had become if he didn’t know how completely committed Lydia was to her long-distance relationship with Jackson in England.    
   
Pahn began pacing inside the circle, clearly anxious to get out.    
   
Stiles stood, wiping his hands on his jeans to rid them of dirt. “Ok, this looks simple enough.  Ready?”  The other two nodded and took their places by Stiles; Derek with a hand on his right shoulder, Lydia with one on his left.   Stiles wasn’t sure why it was easier for him to do magic while in contact with pack, but it was.  He preferred Derek and Lydia because they seemed to accept that he needed the reassurance of pack without saying a word, and they were the only two who didn’t still flinch before they touched him after everything that had happened.    
   
Stiles tried to ignore the chill he felt run down his spine when Derek’s hand made contact with his body, and hoped Derek attributed the blip in his heart rate to excitement about the spell he was going to cast.   
   
After everything that went down, Stiles took stock of his life and the people in it and realized his feelings for a certain Sourwolf might not be strictly friendly.   But now was not the time for those feelings to come to light, so he shook his head to clear his mind and got to work.  He muttered a few choice phrases and the ruins on the stones turned a violent orange color before evaporating completely.  
   
Pahn looked around at Stiles, waiting for a sign that he could leave the circle and, after a nod from Stiles, leapt out of his confinement with a triumphant and very manly squeak.    
  
Finally free, Pahn turned towards Stiles with his arms open, beaming, when suddenly a shout broke the silence in the trees.  


	2. Quite a temper

Scott came barreling back into the clearing with Chris hot on his heels.  Under Chris’ arm was a nearly unconscious Isaac, whose face looked like it had lost a few rounds with a tree trunk.  
  
“It’s the witch,” Scott cried as he ran towards Stiles and Lydia.  “She ambushed Isaac and she’s right behind us.”  
   
Derek bent his knees as he unleashed his claws and fangs and roared.  It was enough for the witch who had just entered the clearing to stumble, but not stop.  She waved one hand and sent Chris, who had just laid Isaac on the ground to be fussed over by Pahn, flying into a nearby tree.  Chris hit the tree with a sickening crunch and narrowly avoided being impaled on the tree’s branches as gravity took him back down to the base.  
   
 After a look from Stiles, Lydia took a few steps back from the fray, putting her outside the immediate attention of the witch, but keeping her close enough that she could help if it came to that.  The pack agreed to only use Lydia’s scream as a last resort.  She had been working with Deaton to control and direct it as a weapon, but she hadn’t fully used it since she screamed for Allison that night in the tunnel.    
   
Derek launched himself at the witch in his beta form, claws getting in a good swipe at her shoulder.  The witch staggered and Stiles took that as his opening to begin chanting.  He used the witch’s temporary disorientation to start conjuring a binding spell that would trap the witch in the clearing and bind her magic inside her so she could not use it.  The spell was temporary, but they only needed the advantage until they could figure out what to do with her.   
   
The witch clenched her hand in Scott’s direction and the werewolf suddenly couldn’t breathe.  His fingers clawed at his throat but no breath came.  She caught Derek with his back turned as he was regrouping from his last attack and with a swipe of her hand, she launched him twenty feet into the air.   His left leg folded under him at an awkward angle as he landed and Stiles knew he would be down for at least a few minutes while the bones reset.    
   
With Isaac and Chris incapacitated, Scott still struggling to breathe, Derek out of the fight momentarily, and Pahn obviously not trained for combat, the witch turned to Stiles and Lydia.  She raised her hand to do who knows what to Stiles but Lydia opened her mouth and screamed before the witch got a chance to so much as twitch.  Lydia did not scream to kill, she knew she only needed to buy time until Derek healed or Stiles finished the binding spell.  Thankfully both of those things happened soon after the scream died out and the witch was on the floor with blood spilling out of her ears.   
   
Isaac tried to sit up but was stopped with a hand to his chest as Pahn dropped to his knees to check him for life-threatening injuries.  Chris was still unconscious but since the wolves didn’t seem too concerned, Stiles took that to mean they could hear his heart beating.  Derek, Stiles, Scott, and Lydia formed a semi circle in front of the witch, who had shaken off the shock of Lydia’s scream well enough that she could stand.  Stiles felt the thrum of magic under his fingernails that told him the binding spell was working, and he pulled at it a little so it formed a tighter circle around the witch.  
   
“This is Hale territory, you have no business here,” Derek snarled through his fangs.  His claws had retracted, but his face retained its hairy, eyebrowless beta form.    
   
“Witches have business everywhere, wolf,” she spat, “Especially when the territory belongs to a pack that allows a fox in spark’s clothing to infect the town.”  
   
To their credit, none of the pack so much as flinched at the witch’s nonchalant reference to the Nogitsune.  Stiles’ hands stiffened and he felt his magic itch to be let out in a surge of panic and anger, but he felt Derek and Lydia inch closer so they were flanking him, offering him support in silence.  Stiles closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  When he opened them again, the witch had her sights trained on him and raised a speculative eyebrow.  
   
“Quite a temper, I see.  It’s from the Nogitsune, you know.  It’s never really gone.  That’s why I’m here.  If you had any respect for yourself or love for your pack you would come with me willingly.  Witches exist to maintain a balance among supernatural creatures and what you are upsets that balance.”  The pack tensed angrily as she spoke, subconsciously angling their bodies towards Stiles in a show of camaraderie.  Even Lydia who was not a wolf had picked up on pack dynamics quickly, which was not at all surprising given her above average intelligence.    
   
Stiles opened his mouth to argue with her, to tell her definitively that he was not the Nogitsune, that he did love his pack, that the best thing for all of them would be for him to stay with them.  But nothing came out.  Deep down, he truly believed that the pack would be better off without him.  Allison would be alive.  Aiden would be alive.  Scott wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night screaming because he had a nightmare that his best friend had stabbed him in the stomach with a katana.  The true extent of the fallout from the Nogitsune was impossible to quantify, and it was all Stiles’ fault.  He knew that.  So how could he stand here and tell this witch any differently?  
   
Luckily the decision was taken out of his hands when Derek snarled, “The Nogitsune is gone, we took care of it.  I suggest you leave before we do the same to you.”  Nothing in Derek’s tone implied that he was really suggesting anything, but the witch had the audacity to look haughty at the implication that she would just be going on her merry way.  
   
In retrospect, Stiles should have seen it coming.  He was so preoccupied with tamping down the magic that longed to be unleashed in his anger and guilt that he didn’t feel his fingertips telling him that the binding spell’s time had ended.  He also forgot that of what he had read of the Fae, they hated being in someone else’s debt.  So he shouldn’t have been surprised that once the witch realized she was no longer bound and raised her hand to strike at Stiles, Pahn flung himself in front of the witch, taking the brunt of her spell.  The flash of magic tore a gaping hole in his chest, staining his white Fae robes crimson.  
   
Lydia opened her mouth to scream and while the witch was preoccupied with attempting to silence her, Derek struck.  His claws slashed through her throat with surgical precision and the witch was dead before she hit the ground.   
   
Stiles surged forward and dropped to the ground next to Pahn.  Pahn’s eyes were becoming glassy and his breaths uneven.  Scott took hold of his left hand while Stiles took his right into a vice-like grip.   
   
Stiles closed his eyes and searched inward to find the source of his spark, ignoring the voice in his head that sounded like Deaton screaming at him to stop.  He would not let another person die because of him.  When he opened his eyes, he saw that Chris and Isaac had recovered enough to make their way to where the rest of the pack had formed a circle around Pahn.  Stiles looked at each of them and without a word they joined hands.  With Derek once again on his right and Lydia on his left, they put their hands on Stiles’ shoulders, anchoring him to the pack so he could draw power from them.  Chris was really more pack adjacent, but there was no denying he had strength that Stiles could use.  
   
Since starting his spark training with Deaton a few weeks after Allison’s death, Stiles had developed a sort of calm that he had never had before.  Scott had noticed that it was mostly when he was doing magic or researching magic of some sort.  In any event, Stiles couldn’t deny now that it was true.  He had never been more still.  
   
With his hands over Pahn’s nearly silent heart, Stiles drew the power of the pack and the power of his spark and directed it from his core into the palms of his hands.  With all his might, he pushed all thoughts of healing from his mind into Pahn’s chest.    
   
So slowly Stiles could hardly tell if it was really happening, Pahn’s chest began to close.  Just as the last pieces of skin finished knitting themselves together, two figures burst out of the trees towards them, drawn no doubt by Lydia’s scream.   Stiles did not want to break the healing circle until he was sure Pahn’s internal injuries were fixed, but he could not let a potential threat attack his pack while they were preoccupied, so he raised his head only to see that the intruders were dressed in the same garb as Pahn.    
   
Great.  More Fae, Stiles thought weakly.  
   
Feeling that Pahn was healed, Stiles stood shakily and turned to the newcomers, who had stopped short at the sight of Pahn bleeding on the ground. They paid no mind to the body of the witch nearby.  
   
“You must be Pahn’s parents?” Stiles stammered, trying to shake himself into full awareness.  He had never attempted a spell that large, even with the strength of the pack to accompany his spark.  “We can explain, we swear.”  Before he could get another word out, he fainted.  He barely had enough time to fully register the strong, muscled arms that caught him just before he hit the ground.  
   
When Stiles came to, he found himself propped against a tree at the edge of the clearing with Scott’s head in his lap.  His eyes looked for pack immediately and he was relieved to find that everyone was awake and more or less unharmed.  Pahn’s parents were standing in the middle of the clearing, flanking their son who had his head bowed.  Derek and Chris were standing opposite them, the five of them obviously deep in discussion.   
   
“Hey,” Stiles nudged Isaac with his foot, pulling him out of whatever daydream he’d been having while sitting next to Stiles.  “What are they saying?  Not all of us have wolfy super powers.”  
   
Isaac rolled his eyes at Stiles’ classification of werewolf hearing and turned his head to listen.  A few minutes into the conversation, Isaac’s eyes went wide with what looked to Stiles like cautious hope.  
   
“What?  Tell me what they said,” Stiles hissed.  
   
“Well…they.  They said we could… I – I don’t really know.  Maybe we should just wait for Derek to tell us.”  
   
Stiles huffed and rolled Scott off of his lap towards Lydia, who was sitting primly a few feet away.  He stood up gingerly, testing his limbs for injury as he stretched.  As he approached the summit meeting happening in the middle of the clearing, all eyes turned to him.  
   
Pahn’s mother swept him into a bone crushing hug, earning a nearly sub vocal growl from Derek.  When she released him, Pahn’s father wasted no time in taking Stiles’ hand in both of his and shaking it enthusiastically.   
   
“We owe you our son’s life.  Twice over, from what I hear,” the man said in a booming voice, releasing Stiles and stepping back.    
   
Stiles broke eye contact and tried to look anywhere else.  He didn’t deserve gratitude or thanks, not after the things he’d done.  He shuffled his feet and mumbled a “no problem” in their general direction, hoping that would be enough and he could start heading home.   Sunlight was starting to push its way through the trees and he wanted to be home before his father returned from the night shift.   
   
“No,” Pahn’s mother, the Fae Queen it turned out, said sharply.  “We owe you a debt we cannot possibly repay.  This is not something we can ignore.  Please,” her wide chocolate brown eyes implored Stiles to understand the gravity of what she was saying.  “Let us repay you for saving our only child.”  
   
The pack exchanged wary glances.  Stiles locked eyes with Derek and did not understand what he saw behind Derek’s carefully blank face.  His eyes shifted to Chris, who looked like someone had reached into his chest and was slowly pulling his heart out.  Stiles was now more curious than ever to know what Isaac had overheard.   He heard Scott gasp sharply behind them as Isaac no doubt filled Scott in.  The Fae King waited patiently for Stiles’ attention to return to him and his wife before saying, “You have all suffered great losses.  I can see in your eyes that there are holes in your soul where loved ones used to reside.  Please allow us to fill some of those holes.”  
   
Stiles and Lydia were growing tired of being the only ones who were not up to speed on where the conversation was going.  Lydia abandoned all pretenses of pretending not to eavesdrop from her position next to Scott and made her way over to stand next to Stiles instead.  They sighed in tandem and Lydia turned her glare to the Fae Queen.  “Do you mind explaining what you mean?  Some of us need more than an hour of beauty sleep before class.”  She flipped her hair in what outsiders would call annoyance but what the pack knows is uneasiness.  
   
“Certainly,” said the Fae Queen with a warm smile.  “What my husband and I are trying to say is that we would like to extend to you an offer.  This is a one time only offer that will expire at midnight.  If you choose to take it, we will bring one of your loved ones back from the afterlife.”  
   
Silence swept over the clearing.  No one dared to move.    
   
Finally, Isaac couldn’t take it anymore and broke the silence like glass.  “You - you mean to say if the pack takes your offer, we can bring one person back from the dead?”  
   
The Fae King gave him a small smile.  “No, my friend.  We are saying that each one of you who takes our offer gets to bring back one person from the dead.”  Pahn reached up to bring his father’s head down so his ear is level with Pahn’s mouth.  After his frantic whispering, the King smirked and looked to Isaac.  “It seems my son has a soft spot for you.  He has asked that we allow you the unique option of bringing back two souls.  The same option does not extend to the others.”  
   
Pahn blushed furiously and avoided meeting Isaac’s eyes.   Isaac’s jaw opened of its own accord as tears pooled in his eyes.   
   
At that, the King and Queen joined hands and ushered their son out of the clearing.  The Queen looked back only to say, “I will return here just before midnight.  Should you wish to take us up on our offer, I expect to see you here.  After midnight, our debt to you is repaid regardless.  But,” she paused to look at each one of the pack members sadly, “I suggest you do not waste this opportunity.  It will not be offered to you again in your lifetime.”


	3. A flair for the dramatic

For a long while, the only movement in the clearing was the placement of the shadows created by the sun rising slowly over the trees.  Stiles closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose, trying desperately to stave off the impending panic attack he knew was inevitable.  
   
He wouldn’t let himself believe it was true.    
   
He didn’t deserve it.  
   
Whoever he brought back would be so ashamed of the things he did when he was possessed.    
   
If he brought back his mother, would she even be able to look at him?  
   
If he brought back Allison, would she flinch every time he walked into the room?  
   
If he brought back Erica, would she still think of him as her Batman?  
   
He felt dizzy as he thought of all the people that had been lost.  Mom.  Allison.  Erica.  Boyd.  Aiden.  Heather.  Tara.  Malia’s adoptive mom and sister.   All of the Hales.  
   
That last thought hit him like a freight train and caused his head to whip around to where Derek was bracing himself against the nearest tree.  His forearms rested against the base of the tree and his head hung just enough so the top of his head brushed against the bark.  His shoulders formed a hard line and Stiles could tell his breathing was coming in quick bursts.  
   
Stiles made his way to Derek’s side in two easy strides and put the palm of his hand in between Derek’s shoulder blades.  The touch seemed to unlock something inside Derek, and he turned his head enough for Stiles to see the tears threatening to spill out of his crimson eyes.  His face had lost his beta form and his eyebrows didn’t seem to know what to do with their reappearance on his face.  They furrowed then retreated towards Derek’s hairline.  Stiles could name every emotion he saw flicker across Derek’s face because he was feeling them too.    
   
Doubt.  Anger.  Hope.  Love.  Devastation.  Resignation.  Uncertainty.  Finally resting on horror.  Stiles had gotten pretty good at reading Derek in the last year or so and could tell he was paralyzed with fear.  Derek had suffered more loss in his young life than most people ever see, and he blamed himself for all of it.  The thought of first picking one person over the others to bring back, then dealing with the uncertainty that came with not knowing if they would accept you as you are was almost more than Stiles or Derek could handle.  
   
They stood that way for a while.  Derek’s eyes locked on Stiles’ while he rubbed soothing circles into Derek’s back.  
   
It was Chris who broke the silence this time.  Holding a hand out to Lydia to help her off the floor (when had she collapsed?), he ground out, “Go get yourselves cleaned up and get to school.  We can meet up afterwards to discuss what just happened.  Derek and I can handle the clean up here.”  Derek’s head jerked in a nod as he shrugged off Stiles’ hand and walked towards the witch’s body.  Isaac strode over to a sniffling Lydia and took her hand, gently guiding her out of the clearing towards the abandoned road where they had parked their cars.  Scott and Stiles walked behind them somberly.  
   
It wasn’t until they were halfway to Stiles’ jeep that one of them spoke.  
   
“Hey, what happened to Kira and Malia?  I would think that Malia’d be chomping at the bit to get some good old-fashioned fighting in.  It’s been pretty quiet the past few months and I know she’s been getting restless.”  Stiles knocked his shoulder against Scott’s as they walked, bringing Scott back from wherever his thoughts had taken him.  
   
“Oh,” Scott offered weakly.  “The Yukimura’s took Kira and Malia to see some family friends in Seattle for the week.  Apparently Noshiko knows some people who can help Kira control her fox and can teach Malia how to full shift into a coyote if she wants to.  I thought Malia would have told you?”  
   
Stiles shook his head.  “Nah, we haven’t been talking much.  I mean we weren’t talking much when we were, you know, not talking, but I think we both realized it would be better for us to kinda try to heal on our own instead of doing whatever it was that we were doing.  So yeah.  Not so much with the talking right now,” Stiles trailed off.  
   
“I hear you,” Scott offered distractedly.  “I learned this all from Lydia.  Kira and I haven’t really been talking since everything happened either.  I know we weren’t really dating or anything, but that makes it almost worse.  You can’t break up with someone you weren’t dating, ya know?”  Stiles just nodded and they finished the walk in silence.   
   
They reached the jeep and Stiles raised an eyebrow as Scott opened the passenger door.  
   
Scott looked down sheepishly, the color returning to his face.  “I kind of panicked when you sent the text, remember?  I figured it would be faster to just run here.”  Scott looked pointedly at Stiles’ unfastened seatbelt when they were both situated in the jeep.  
   
“Aw, buddy!  You really caaaare.  You looove me,” Stiles sing-songed at Scott while he pointedly strapped himself in.  
   
“Shut up and drive,” Scott returned indignantly with a shove to Stiles’ shoulder.  
   
And just like that, they were back to normal.  They drove in companionable silence, neither speaking about the deal that had been offered or doing anything more than hum along quietly with the radio.  Stiles pulled up in front of the McCall house and Scott jumped out with a “see ya later,” and then Stiles was alone.   
   
It took Stiles all of five seconds to determine there was no way he was going to school that day.  He wrote a quick note to his dad saying he was sick and not to wake him when he got home from his shift.  After a quick shower, he set himself up at his desk with his energy drinks and his Adderall, ready to look into how legitimate this deal was.    
   
After five hours and as many Red Bulls, Stiles had determined a few things:    
   
1\. This deal was legit.  It had only been offered three times in Fae history, and only once on this scale.  By all accounts, there were no loopholes or work-arounds, and the Risen - as they were apparently called - lived out normal lives after they returned from the dead.    
2\. The deal included a little mind altering of the locals so there would be no “back from the dead” details that needed to be worked out.  It would just be as if they had never died.  Only those who were pack or pack-adjacent would know about the deal, and that the Risen had previously been dead.   
3\. The Risen would appear to the person who had chosen them within 24 hours of the Fae Queen casting the spell.  
4\. If the Risen died again, there would be no way to bring them back.  Not even with Fae magic.  
5\. Stiles had no idea who to bring back.  
   
His first thought was of his mother.  Obviously.  But every time her name popped into his head, the crippling self doubt came along with it.    
   
What if she’s disappointed in me?  
   
Why do I deserve to get my mother back when I’ve done nothing but cause so much death and destruction?  
   
How can I choose her when I’ve directly contributed to the deaths of others?  
   
She won’t love me.  
   
She shouldn’t love me.  
   
I can’t do it.  
   
I can’t.  
   
Stiles sent a quick text off to Scott telling him what he found and that he was going to skip the pack meeting after school.  From Scott’s reply, it sounded like everyone was.  
   
By the time 11:00pm rolled around, Stiles was sleep-deprived, cranky, and all cried out.  But he had made his decision.    
   
Stiles entered the clearing with a made-up mind and a heavy heart.  He wasn’t surprised to see Derek, Lydia, Scott, Chris, and Isaac all already there, spread out and pointedly not meeting each other’s eyes.    
   
The Fae Queen appeared in a cloud of smoke.    
   
Apparently Peter isn’t the only one with a flair for the dramatic, Stiles thought passively.    
   
“I’m happy to see you all here.  Like I said earlier, this is not an opportunity you will get again in your lifetime.”  
   
The tension in the air was tinged with sadness and cautious optimism.  The Fae Queen doled out instructions clearly and the pack hastened to oblige.  
   
Soon everything was set into place.  The Fae Queen stood in the center of the clearing in front of an altar with the pack forming a tight circle around her.   She chanted quietly with her eyes closed.   
   
The pack let out a collective gasp as the name of their chosen Risen was plucked from their minds.  The smoke coming out of the altar turned a vibrant blue and contorted to form a name.  One name at a time, the identities of the dead loved ones to be revived rose from the altar and then dissipated.   
   
Allison Argent.   At this, Stiles closed his eyes.  He couldn’t take looking anyone in the face right now.  This was happening.  These people were about to be brought back.  Any joy he felt at the thought of his chosen deceased coming back to life was overshadowed by the thought of all of the dead he didn’t choose.  He forced himself to open his eyes only to see the name that came out of the smoke next.  He couldn’t spare any time to think of the implications of one of the people he had killed coming back before the second name appeared.  
   
Erica Reyes.  A delighted laugh escaped his mouth before he could stop it.  Catwoman.    
   
Vernon Boyd.  Tears pooled in Stiles’ eyes.  His thoughts flickered back to his hand on Derek’s shoulder after Boyd had been impaled on his claws.  If nothing else, Stiles was happy Derek would be regaining two of his pack members.  
   
Dominic Bertrand.  Stiles’ confusion was drowned out by a sharp gasp on his right from Derek.  Clearly this was Derek’s choice.  He couldn’t help the pang of jealousy at the thought of someone Derek was bringing back who could garner this type of emotional reaction.  All thoughts of jealousy were pushed out of his mind at the sight of the next name.  
   
Talia Hale.  You could hear a pin drop in the clearing.  The tears threatening to fall from Stiles’ eyes finally made their way down his face.  Derek was about to get his mother back.  As someone who had lost his mother at a young age, Stiles could think of no greater joy than having his mother return to him.  Of course, Derek actually deserved this.  Stiles did not.  Stiles deserved nothing after what he did.  After who he killed and all the destruction he was responsible for.   This alone was the driving force that caused Stiles to not pick his own mother’s name.  He brought his thoughts back to the present just in time to see the next name appear.   
   
Laura Hale.  Stiles raised his eyes at that, finally looking at everyone else in the circle.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the clearing.  Even the Fae Queen had tears running down her face.   Stiles suppressed the urge to reach out and take Derek’s hand.  Two of the most important people in Derek’s life were about to be returned to him.  Stiles closed his eyes.  There was only one name left and he couldn’t for the life of him think whose it could be.  His chosen name had already been revealed.   The pack took a breath as one as the smoke rose from the altar for the final time.  
   
Claudia Stilinski. 


	4. It's not what you think

Stiles could tell that the Fae Queen was speaking, but it was as if he was underwater. None of the noises around him were being absorbed by his mind. His breath came in spurts and before he knew what was happening, he was in the middle of a full blown panic attack. He was vaguely aware of the people around him trying to bring him out of it, but the darkness claimed him before he could make out what his friends were saying.

When Stiles came to, the first thought that entered into his mind was how warm he was. Given the chill in the air when he was in The Preserve, Stiles could only assume he was either indoors or wrapped in the arms of a werewolf. He blinked sluggishly until his surroundings became clear. He was at Derek’s loft. The light shining through the windows near the bed told him it was well past midday. The soft puffing behind him indicated that there was a certain Sourwolf napping nearby. Stiles leapt from the bed and turned to see Derek sleeping peacefully, his arm outstretched towards where Stiles had been as if he had fallen asleep with his arm around Stiles’ waist. In sleep, he looked about five years younger. The permanent scowl was gone from his forehead and his mouth was relaxed from its usual frown.

“Derek?” Stiles’ whisper sounded like a crack of thunder in the previously silent loft. Derek rose from sleep slowly, blinking awake and looking around for what had disturbed his slumber. When his eyes finally rested on Stiles, he sat up sharply and blushed.

“Sorry, I fell asleep. You fainted and I was supposed to be watching over you.” Derek turned his head away from Stiles.

“Ok first of all, I didn’t faint I just… temporarily lost consciousness...” Derek’s unimpressed eyebrows reappeared as he stood from the bed and padded towards the kitchen. Stiles couldn’t help but wonder at how soft Derek looked with bare feet, sleep-mussed hair, sweatpants that looked like they’d been beaten into submission by the washing machine, and a faded black Henley that was a size too big.

“I’m sorry the others left you to take care of me. I must have been a wreck.” Stiles laughed self deprecatingly and started pacing around the loft, the events of the previous night hitting him like a wrecking ball.

Derek just shrugged. “You hungry?”

Stiles’ stomach chose that exact moment to rumble loudly. “Oh, yeah. I guess.” Stiles tried to think back to the last time he had eaten and couldn’t remember. 

Derek fumbled gracefully around in the kitchen for a while without another word. He cooked in silence while Stiles continued to pace. When it became clear that Derek wasn’t going to be the one to start the conversation they needed to have, Stiles huffed and strolled over to take a seat at one of the bar stools behind the island. 

Stiles absently noticed Derek putting together ingredients for omelets as he fought with where to start. There were logistics Stiles definitely missed after the spell was cast, but Derek seemed content to leave Stiles in the dark while he cooked.

Stiles opened his mouth to ask what had happened after he lost consciousness, but what came out instead was, “Who’s Dominic Bertrand?”

Derek looked up at that. He seemed to be at a loss at where to start.

“I - I. Nevermind. Don’t worry about it, it’s none of my business.” Stiles looked down at his hands clasped on the island in front of him. His heart was beating out of his chest and there was no doubt Derek could hear it.

“No, it’s fine,” Derek began. He finished the omelets and plated them, sitting down next to Stiles as they started eating. 

“Uncle Dom was Peter’s mate.” Whatever Stiles expected Derek to say, it wasn’t that.

“What,” he spluttered eloquently. “Peter’s mate? Mates are real? Of course mates are real, nevermind. But Peter had a mate? Peter’s mate was male? No, that makes sense. Oh, he must have been interesting. But wait - Peter used to not be crazy so maybe he’s cool… is that why you chose him? Was he your favorite uncle? He must have been.” Stiles continued to voice every question that came to his mind until his babbling was cut off unceremoniously by Derek shoving a forkful of omelet into his mouth.

“Stiles. Shut. Up.” Derek’s eyebrows were once again at his hairline, his eyes wide as he took in the head case in front of him. After shaking his head a few times, Derek pinched the bridge of his nose and steadied himself to reply to the litany of questions Stiles had posed.

“Yes, mates are real. Uncle Dom and Peter had only been together for about 2 years before the fire, but they were inseparable. That’s why Uncle Dom was at the house that night. He was there to ask our Alpha, my mother, for the bite.” Stiles opened his mouth to interrupt at that, but shut it quickly after one glare from Derek.

“As for your other question, wolves don’t really care about sexual orientation. Once you find your mate - if you ever do - that’s it.” For some reason, Derek had to avert his eyes while explaining this part to Stiles. Stiles was too preoccupied with the thought of Peter having a mate to notice.

“So that’s why you chose him? Because you wanted Peter to have his mate back?” Stiles was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together to see who had picked which name, but some things still just weren’t adding up. Who had picked his mom? Who had picked Allison? There were certainly many volunteers for that one. 

“Stiles… I didn’t pick Uncle Dom. In fact,” Derek furrowed his eyebrows, lost in thought, “I have no idea who did. To my knowledge, no one even knew about him. No one who was in the clearing, that is.”

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough. My research told me the Risen will visit whoever chose them within 24 hours of when the spell was cast.” Stiles suddenly realized what that meant and wolfed - ha - down the rest of his omelet. Oddly enough, Derek similarly began to eat quickly and stood to take his and Stiles’ dishes to the sink, grabbing Stiles’ plate almost before he had finished eating.

“Ok, I’d better be going. Lots to do.” Stiles gathered up the jacket hanging on the edge of the sofa and ran towards the door.

“Yes, you’d better get going.” Derek rushed to open the door and herded Stiles out of the loft.

It wasn’t until Stiles was in his jeep - thanks, Scott - and halfway home that they both realized Stiles had grabbed Derek’s leather jacket by mistake.

Stiles hated himself for being happy his dad was working a double that day. As much as his dad needed a break, Stiles didn’t want him to be home when his Risen arrived. 

The pacing got old pretty quickly and there was nothing on TV, so Stiles resigned himself to waiting in silence. He laid on the couch and stared absently at the ceiling. Having shut his phone off after leaving Derek’s loft, he didn’t want any interruptions when his Risen arrived. He assumed the others felt the same.

All this quiet alone time led to Stiles thinking about how strange Derek had been acting at the loft that morning. Avoiding Stiles’ eyes, answering his questions without the usual amount of glaring, cooking. He steadfastly ignored the fact that he still had Derek’s leather jacket on. Just as Stiles began to work himself into a state, he heard a soft but deliberate knock on the door.

His heart began to beat rapidly as he tried to control his breathing. He stood up and found himself sprinting to the door. Gathering all his strength in one large inhale, he held his breath and opened it.

Although he’d never met the woman standing in his doorway, Stiles thought at that moment he would have recognized her anywhere. 

“Talia Hale,” she began regally with her hand outstretched to grip Stiles’ own firmly. “It’s so nice to meet you, Stiles.”

“Mrs. – Alpha Hale,” Stiles stammered. His eyes were as big as saucers, even though he knew he should have been expecting her. It was one thing to think it was going to work, but to actually see someone who was supposed to be dead standing in your doorway was really overwhelming. Stiles realized he’d been staring for far too long and stood aside to let her in.

“Talia, please. Anyone who brings me back from the dead can forgo the formalities,” she replied with a twinkle in her eye that made Stiles like her immediately. They stepped into the living room and suddenly Stiles had no idea what to say or do. Where should he start? With why he chose her? With one of the million questions he had for her? Should he tell her about Laura and that she was one of the Risen too? No, he should bring her straight to Derek. Derek would want to see her right away.

Talia smirked in a way that made Stiles realize he had been voicing these thoughts out loud. “Why don’t we sit? I’m sure we both have quite a few questions. Starting with why you smell so much like my son?” Talia’ voice was soft yet commanding. Stiles had no problem imagining her as the Alpha of the once-great Hale pack. He had just met her and already he felt himself wanting to defer to her on all things great and small.

Stiles tried to hide the flush he felt at her words as they sat on the couch facing each other, but knew it was futile to try to hide any emotions from this particular Alpha. Talia Hale was once one of the most powerful Alpha’s in the Northern Hemisphere. She wasn’t about to be fooled by someone simply hiding a blush by ducking their head. 

“Oh,” he began lamely, “It’s not what you think. I just grabbed his jacket by mistake when I left his place this morning. Not that I stayed the night! I mean, I did. But only because I had passed out. Or well not so much passed out as temporarily lost consciousness. Because of the spell, ya know? So yeah, I woke up at his place. But there was no cuddling. I think – we were both sleeping so there might have been sleepy cuddling. But not because we’re together or anything. Because we are not... Usually someone stops me by now.” By the end of his rant, Stiles was beet red and wishing he were anywhere but in his living room with the mother of the man he was more or less head over heels for. 

“Well that’s a shame. I find that the less you stop someone from speaking, the more you get to hear what they are actually trying to say.” That glint in her eye was back and Stiles was wrong, he hated it. It was too all-knowing. Like she could tell what he was thinking before he said it. It would be a dangerous glint on anyone other than Talia Hale. 

“I must admit, I am a little disappointed to hear that you and my Derek are not an item. I knew your mother, Stiles. And any son of hers would, I’m sure, be a great match for Derek. You do look so much like her.” She reached out to grasp the hand that hung limply in his lap. Stiles clung to it for a moment before dropping it and turning to look Talia squarely in the face. 

He took a deep breath and said, “I want to tell you everything. Things that happened before the fire that you may not know, and everything I know that has happened since. It’s not a very happy story and I know many parts – mainly including Peter – will make you angry, but you need to hear it. Particularly if you’re going to understand why Derek may not initially appear very happy to have you or Laura back.”

Clearly not one to hide from harsh truths, Talia simply inclined her head and said, “Go ahead, Stiles. Tell me everything.”

So he did. He told her about Kate and her manipulation of Derek and how she had started the fire. About Laura and Derek surviving since they weren’t there, but Peter being badly burned. About Laura returning and Peter murdering her. About the kanima and Derek’s misfit pack and the return of Gerard and Kate Argent. About Allison and her parents. About the Alpha Pack and the darach, and all the destruction they left in their respective wakes. About learning Cora was alive and well. He broke down in tears as he recounted the Nogitsune and its reign of terror. He realized numbly it was the first time he sat down and talked about what had happened. 

Talia didn’t speak the entire time Stiles was talking, save for a few follow up questions or clarifications throughout the story. By the time he was done, there were tears running freely down both of their faces. It was quite a sight, seeing such a powerful woman reduced to tears. At some point while Stiles was talking, Talia had grasped his hands once again and they both held on tightly even after he was done. 

Once they had both regained their composure, Stiles was startled to find that it was dark outside. He retrieved his phone from the coffee table and turned it on to find several messages from various pack members. 

The first was from Isaac. It was just a selfie of him in a puppy pile with Erica and Boyd in his room at the McCall’s house. His smile was so wide it threatened to stretch his whole face. There was no caption, but none was needed. Stiles found himself beaming as he wiped away any residual tears. 

Stiles shared the photo with Talia and a small smile graced her face. “They look like a lovely bunch. I am very excited to meet my son’s betas. But that will have to wait. Do you know where Derek and Laura are?” There was a hint of desperation in her voice that Stiles knew immediately not many people had ever heard from the Alpha. 

Stiles looked back at his phone and saw a message from Lydia. It was another picture – this one of Scott and Allison sharing the same space on a reclining chair in the Martin’s living room. Allison was on Scott’s lap with his arms around her waist and their foreheads pressed together. Even though the picture was taken from across the room, Stiles could clearly make out Allison’s dimples as she smiled.

Stiles tamped down his dread and focused on the joy he felt at Allison’s return. His and Allison’s reunion would have to wait. He typed out a quick response to Lydia asking if she knew anything about where Laura or Derek may be.

She responded right away that they were both at Derek’s loft. She somehow also knew that Dominic Bertrand had run off to find Peter – Lydia, in all her well-deserved paranoia, was the only one who knew the address of his “secret apartment” - so she was able to send him in the right direction.

Chris had texted Stiles to let him know that he had gone off to ask the Fae Queen if the mind-altering extended to hunters in other territories, or if he would have to inform them of the sudden influx of non-hostile werewolves in Beacon Hills.

Stiles put his phone away and looked up at Talia. “You ready to see Derek and Laura?” So caught up in the thought of reuniting the Hales that he momentarily forgot to ask for his mother’s whereabouts, Stiles headed for the door with Talia in tow after a firm nod from the Alpha. 

To her credit, Talia didn’t say one word about the state of his hunk of junk Jeep as they drove through Beacon Hills towards Derek’s loft. 

They climbed the rickety staircase to the top floor to find the door to the loft closed but not locked. Stiles entered without knocking as he always did and took off Derek’s coat to hang it by the door. He looked behind him to find Talia staring past him to the two figures curled up on the couch. A beautiful young woman with dark brown hair and red-rimmed eyes who must be Laura was gazing down in adoration at Derek’s head in her lap. His eyes were closed as Laura’s fingers carded lazily through his hair. 

Talia gasped. “Oh, my darlings.” Her hand clutched her heart as both Derek and Laura shot out of their seats towards their mother. Talia gathered them both up in a bone creaking hug that would have squeezed the life out of anyone who wasn’t a werewolf. 

“I’m so sorry, mom. I’m so sorry,” Derek sobbed. His breath hitched and he buried his face into his mother’s neck as if to memorize her scent. “It was all my fault, I’m so sorry.”

“Hush,” Talia scolded. “I know everything and I love you just the same. What happened was no more your fault than it was mine and I won’t hear you blaming yourself anymore.” Stiles knew Derek would take more convincing, but it was exactly what Derek needed to hear at the moment.

“That’s what I said,” Laura whined. She released her mother with one hand and used it to smack Derek on the back of the head. “Told you so, Bun.”

Stiles was definitely going to ask Laura later about the nickname, but for now he left the three of them to their reunion. He toed off his shoes by the front door as Talia led her children to the couch. With Laura under her right arm and Derek under her left, she sat running her fingers through Laura’s hair and rubbing gentle circles on Derek’s back. They cried quietly tangled together, perfectly content.

Stiles strode to the kitchen to make some tea for the trio, only to find another woman already doing exactly that. Stiles’ eyes locked with his mother’s for only a second before he was reduced to a sobbing mess in her arms. Any fears he’d had of rejection were expelled from his mind as his mother whispered soothing words of love and encouragement into his ear.

“My brave boy,” Claudia sighed. “I’ve missed you so much. You’ve been so brave for your father while I was gone. I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I’m right here. I’m right here.”

She stroked his hair while he cried into her shoulder. At some point, he collapsed onto his knees, bringing his mother with him. But she never let go – just readjusted her grip around his shoulders and clung to him tighter.


	5. It was me

The five of them did not speak for a long time. Talia was content to hold her children on the couch until their sobs petered out into soft puffs of air, and Claudia had rearranged herself so she and Stiles were sitting on the kitchen floor with their backs against the cupboard. Stiles’ arms were wrapped around her waist and his head hung heavily on her shoulder as Claudia held him firmly in her grasp with her cheek resting on the top of his head. 

“Come, my darling,” Claudia whispered finally. “We should leave the Hales to their reunion.” Stiles nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand as he and his mother stood. The Hales’ heads whipped up and turned towards the kitchen as if they had all forgotten that they were not alone. 

“Nonsense, Claudia,” said Talia firmly. “You and your son are never an intrusion. You know that.” That twinkle in her eyes was back. Stiles had forgotten that Talia and Claudia had been friends before their deaths.

Stiles was trying to look anywhere but at Derek. He knew Derek would figure out eventually that it was him who had brought back Talia, but Stiles didn’t want to be in the room when that happened. Would it make him look… desperate? Lonely? Scared to face his own demons? Some combination of the three? Stiles didn’t know, but was not in a hurry to find out how Derek would take this news.

“Thank you Alp - Talia,” Stiles corrected himself at the sight of Talia’s eyebrow quirking at him - definitely a Hale thing - “but we should be going.” He turned his head to his mother, “Dad will want to see you. I haven’t told him anything yet. He was working when Talia arrived and I didn’t want to say anything to him earlier in case it didn’t work or something… Oh, Scott will want to see you too! But wait, you already saw him so nevermind.” Stiles walked towards the couch where the Hales still sat and extended his hand to the only person in the room he had yet to formally meet.

“Stiles Stilinski, nice to meet you.”

She took his hand with a playful glint in her eyes. “Yes, I’m well aware of who you are.” She threw a positively predatory look in Derek’s direction. Derek looked like he was on the verge of fainting. “Laura Hale. We have so much to catch up on. You have to tell me every embarrassing thing Derek did while I was gone.” Stiles grinned, his eyes alight with mischief. 

“Only if you tell me where he got the nickname ‘Bun’,” he countered. 

Laura cackled with delight, throwing her head back into the couch cushions. Stiles sat on the coffee table, facing the Hale siblings.

Derek found his voice just enough to whisper, “Still better than ‘Sourwolf’.” He seemed to catch his mistake just before Laura processed what he had said. He threw his hand over his mouth as she shouted “Sourwolf?! Stiles, please tell me you call him that all the time.”

Stiles wasted no time in joining Laura while she playfully poked fun at Derek. 

Their voices and intermittent laughter - even from Derek - were a delightful background to the quiet pleasantries being exchanged between Talia and Claudia. 

They had moved to the periphery to stand side by side while watching their children interact. Twin smiles graced their faces as they listened to Derek lament the fact that Laura and Stiles ever met.

The look Stiles gave Derek the first time Derek laughed at something he and Laura said did not escape Claudia or Talia’s notice. They exchanged smirks and Claudia winked briefly before stepping closer to the children. 

“Stiles, we really should be going. But what was it you said about me having already seen Scott?” Her face formed a confused frown.

“Well he brought you back right? I just figured because Isaac brought back Erica and Boyd, and Chris must have brought back Allison, so Scott brought you back, right?”

Claudia smiled softly at her son. “No, sweetheart. It was not Scott who brought me back.” 

While Stiles’ back was turned, Laura nudged Derek with her shoulder, encouraging him to speak up. But Derek seemed to be at a loss for words.

Stiles wasn’t catching on. “Well who did? Lydia? That doesn’t make any sense…” Stiles trailed off, talking to himself now. “But if it wasn’t Lydia, then who did she bring back? Laura, or Dominic? No, Derek must have brought back Laura.” He was muttering now, having begun pacing in his quest for clarity.

“It was me.”

Stiles spun around. That sounded like Derek’s voice, but there’s no way. Is there? Did Derek really bring back Mom?

At some point during Stiles’ ranting, Laura had left the couch in favor of standing next to her mother.

Stiles plopped himself into the seat Laura had vacated and looked at Derek with his head cocked to the side, disbelieving. Derek was steadfastly avoiding eye contact, until Stiles dipped his head to force Derek to look up from his hands in his lap.

Stiles vaguely registered the others walking to the kitchen to give the two of them some privacy - or as much privacy as you can get with werewolves.

“It was you?” For some reason, Stiles didn’t want to bring his voice above a whisper.

Clearly Derek felt the same, because his “Yes” was so quiet, Stiles wouldn’t have heard it if they hadn’t been looking right at each other from less than a foot away.

“Why?”

Derek broke his facade just enough to quirk an annoyed eyebrow at Stiles.

“No, not that I’m not grateful,” Stiles rushed to amend his earlier question. “I just don’t understand why you would choose to bring someone back for me. After all that you’ve lost.” Stiles’ voice caught at the word ‘lost,’ and he could feel his eyes start to fill up with tears again.

Derek huffed a breath. “Not to go all preschool playground on you, but you started it.” At Stiles’ confused frown, he elaborated. “I did the math, Stiles. It was you who brought back my mom, too.”

Stiles laughed delightedly and threw his arms around Derek’s shoulders before he could think of all the reasons why he shouldn’t. Derek responded almost immediately and engulfed Stiles in a tight embrace. Derek furrowed his nose into Stiles’ neck, breathing in the calming scent of pack and mate. He pushed that second thought aside in favor of holding on to Stiles for a bit longer.

They were both startled by the sound of their phones going off at the same time, and jumped away from each other and if they had been shocked.

“Um,” Stiles coughed, looking at his screen. “It’s Scott.”

The others had returned from the kitchen, Laura muttering something under her breath that made Derek blush and duck his head.

“He called a pack meeting for tomorrow at noon. He asked that we bring everyone.” Stiles looked around at that and saw Laura and his mom both nodding. Talia’s eyes widened slightly as she asked, “Scott is acting Alpha in Beacon Hills?” Her gaze turned to Derek, who stood.

“We, uh, hadn’t really - we hadn’t really figured that all out. Having two Alphas and all.” For the first time since Stiles had known him, Derek seemed to have trouble with what he was trying to say. It wasn’t unusual for him to not say anything at all, but when he did it was generally pretty eloquent. 

Talia swept him up in a brief hug and kept a hand on his shoulder when she pulled away. “Relax, sweetheart. We will figure everything out. I know you were never meant to be the Alpha. It was always meant to be Laura, and even that wasn’t supposed to happen so quickly.” She reached her free hand out towards Laura, who ran forward to grasp it tightly. “Everything will work out just fine.”

“And now,” Claudia interjected as she moved to stand next to Stiles, linking her arm through his, “I have a husband to go reconnect with.” Winking, she turned them towards the door. Stiles uttered a weak “Mooooom,” while Laura and Talia both chuckled. Stiles looked back as he put his shoes on to see Derek staring intently at him. Not sure where they stood, Stiles exited the loft with a salute he would surely be kicking himself for later.  
Stiles called his Dad as soon as he and his mom were settled in the Jeep. Claudia ran her hands nostalgically over the dashboard and Stiles realized with a jolt that the Jeep used to belong to her before she died. 

“Stilinski,” his dad said gruffly.

“Hey dad. How’s it going? Catch any bad guys? You know you work too hard. You didn’t go to the diner for lunch again, did you? I told them not to let you have red meat but do they listen? I should go down there again and make sure – ”

“Stiles,” his dad’s voice was stern and unyielding. “What did you do? Did you melt the refrigerator again?”

“That was one time and you know Deaton told me to practice my spells outside the safety of the vet’s office.”

“I don’t think he meant for you to try to get the ice machine to produce ice cream, Stiles.” He could almost hear his dad pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Ok, this is NOT why I called.” His mom stifled a giggle behind her hands.

“What was that? You with someone, son? Tell Derek I said hi and to have you home by 10. Ok, maybe 11 since it’s a Friday night.”

“What… Dad… there’s just – so much no in that statement. I’m not with Derek, dad. Why would you think I was with Derek? I’m not always with Derek.” If Stiles weren’t so happy to have his mom with him right now, he would be glaring as her giggles increased in volume. As it was, it was all he could do not to burst into song at the sight of her so happy. “I’m, um, I’m not with anyone right now. Just – when do you get off tonight? There’s something I kind of need to talk to you about.”

Just like that, his dad’s joking tone was gone. More fallout from that damn fox spirit. “What’s wrong, Stiles? Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, dad. Everything’s fine,” Stiles glanced over at his mother’s smiling face. “More than fine, in fact.” 

“Ok, well I get off at 7, so I’ll come straight home when my shift’s over.” Stiles could hear the worry still prevalent in his dad’s voice.

He looked at the clock and rolled his eyes. “Dad, it’s 8:30.”

“Oh. Ok then I’ll just finish up here and head home. You feel like Chinese tonight?”

“Sounds good. I’ll order though. My arteries are clogged just thinking of what you must have had for lunch at that diner.”

They hung up and Stiles chanced a glance at his mom. “You ok? I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now.” He returned his eyes to the road, but brought his hand over to grasp one of hers. 

She sighed. “I’m a little nervous, to be honest. This is all so surreal. I mean, when I died, you were just a boy. Now you’re a grown man with this life I could never have imagined for you. And you and your father have this bond born out of losing me, and another one born out of fighting the supernatural together. I just worry that there may not be space for me.” She squeezed Stiles’ hand in her left and wiped an errant tear with her right.

Stiles pulled his hand away from his mother’s just long enough to put the car in park as they pulled into the driveway. He took off his seatbelt and turned to fully face his mom.

“Mom, I want you to listen to me.” Claudia was taken aback by the fierceness of his tone, but met his eyes steadily. “When you died, dad was a wreck. He was drinking too much, blowing off his shifts at work, and alienating anyone who tried to help him. I spent most of my time at Scott’s. For that whole first year, Mrs. McCall was the one who would help me with my schoolwork, remember to schedule my haircuts and dentist appointments, and make sure I was staying out of trouble. That turned into a full time job because I was a wreck, too. I was starting fights and I refused to talk to anyone who wasn’t Scott. We were broken.”

The guilt on Claudia’s face was almost too much for Stiles to handle. He took a deep breath and continued.

“Eventually, dad pulled himself out of it. We didn’t talk about it, or you, but we decided it was time to try to move forward without you. And we did. It was nearly impossible, but it got easier every day, so we did. We learned the hard way that we could live without you. But mom, we don’t want to live without you. I know dad wants to come home at night to hear the two of us theorize over how his newest case was perpetrated by aliens. Just like I want to come to you for advice on how to approach the newest threat the pack faces with the least amount of casualties, or where I should go to college. We want you here. There will always be a space for you with us.”

Stiles was a little impressed he got through that whole thing without bursting into tears. He and his mother embraced as tightly as they could given the awkward angle the Jeep had them in.

“Ok,” Stiles said cheerfully as he broke the hug. “You ready to shock the shit out of dad?”


	6. The latter, I think

Stiles ordered dinner while Claudia got reacquainted with the house. She stopped for a while on the stairwell to look at the pictures littering the wall. Stiles climbed halfway up the stairs to meet her and saw her looking at one photo in particular. It was a candid, taken by Melissa at one of their lacrosse games. Scott sat on the bench with his arm slung around Stiles’ shoulder, laughing while Stiles beamed at him. In the background you could see Erica and a very reluctant looking Derek in the stands, no doubt there to cheer on Isaac and Boyd. 

“When was this taken?” Claudia ran her fingers over Stiles’ smile. “You were so happy.”

Stiles cleared his throat. “About six months ago. A lot has happened since then.”

Claudia turned to look at her son and saw a very different boy than she saw in the picture. The Stiles in front of her looked drained and she could tell he hadn’t slept or eaten well in weeks, maybe longer.

“Derek filled me in on a few things before Laura arrived at the loft.” Claudia took Stiles’ hand and led him downstairs to the living room so they could sit on the couch. “He told me about the Nogitsune.”

Stiles gasped and his eyes widened in fear. This was it. He was about to lose his mother and he just got her back. Why would she want to stay knowing what he did?

“I am so proud of you.”

Stiles was floored. “What? H - how can you be proud of me after all the horrible things I’ve done? I killed people, mom.” Maybe she just didn’t understand everything that had happened…

“Nonsense. If what Derek told me is true, you are a hero. You fought against the possession when you figured out what was happening. You even voluntarily locked yourself up in that awful place to keep your friends and family safe. Sweetheart, you did everything right. What happened when that thing took over is not your fault. None of it is your fault.”

Claudia could tell Stiles didn’t want to be touched this time, so she kept herself from trying to offer any physical comfort. “It’s ok if you don’t believe me yet. Everything must be so fresh in your mind still. Derek said you probably don’t even think you deserve to feel better. But I’m going to keep trying to convince you that you aren’t to blame, ok?” Stiles nodded and stood up.

“Thanks, mom.”

Claudia followed his lead and stood up as well, clapping her hands once and rubbing them together conspiratorially. “Ok! So how are we going to do this? Should I hide in the front hall closet and pop out when he opens the front door, or do you want me to be all boring and wait upstairs while you ease him into it?”

Stiles laughed. A real, full-bodied laugh that he hadn’t thought himself capable of in quite a while. “The latter, I think.”

“Ok, I’ll head up then, I think I heard his cruiser pull into the driveway just now.”

After a nod from Stiles, she made her way up the stairs, stopping in front of a few photos momentarily, and then she was gone.

“Stiles?” His father’s voice called from the front door.

“In here, dad,” he hollered from the living room. 

He could hear his dad shrugging off his jacket and leaving his shoes by the front door. Stiles sat on the couch directly across from his dad’s armchair, knowing that’s where his dad would no doubt collapse as he normally does after such a long shift at the office. 

“So what’s going on, son? You usually fight me harder when I ask for Chinese food.” As Stiles had guessed, his dad sat wearily in his recliner and leaned back with a long sigh.

“Well you know how it’s been really quiet lately and we’ve kind of been waiting for the other shoe to drop?” He waited until his dad nodded hesitantly. “The shoe kind of dropped - but not in a bad way!” His dad’s unimpressed face had nothing on Derek’s, but Stiles sped up his explanation nonetheless. “Last night, I felt one of my wards go off in the Preserve…” 

To his credit, the Sheriff didn’t interrupt Stiles’ recounting of the events of the past two days. When Stiles got to the part about the Fae Queen’s deal, his eyebrows made a break for his hairline, but he stayed quiet.

Stiles skipped the part about his decision making process and spending the night in Derek’s bed, stopping his story at the end of the midnight spell casting ceremony.

John cleared his throat before asking hoarsely, “Stiles, who were you really with in the car earlier?”

Stiles drew in a breath through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth. “You can come down, now.” He raised his voice slightly so his mom could hear him from whichever room she had been hiding in.

John shot up from his chair and walked to the end of the staircase. His eyes were trained on the top stair where Claudia had stopped short. 

Their eyes met and Claudia had to bring a hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying out.

Without taking his eyes from Claudia’s face, John turned his head slightly towards where Stiles stood frozen in the doorway. “This isn’t a trick? This - this is real?” His voice was soft, as if he was afraid speaking any louder would break the spell.

“Y - yeah, Dad. This is real. Trust me, I did a shitload of research before everything went down to make sure it was all legit.”

“Language,” his mom and dad admonished him half-heartedly at the same time, their eyes still locked on each other’s.

“Claudia?” John’s eyes were swimming with tears threatening to spill over onto his face.

“It’s me, love. I don’t know how to prove it to you, but it’s me. I’m back and I’m not going anywhere.” Her lips trembled.

John smirked slightly through his tears. “I dunno… I’m pretty sure the real Claudia would have just jumped out from behind a door when I first got home.”

Claudia laughed delightedly and launched herself down the stairs into her husbands open arms. 

They clung to each other fiercely, tears running freely down both of their faces. Stiles could only just make out the litany of words being exchanged. From ‘I love you’ to ‘I’m not going anywhere’ to ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’

Stiles slid down the doorframe and sat with his back to the living room, facing his parents. His heart felt so full he was sure any werewolf within a hundred miles could hear it beating wildly in his chest. For the first time in as long as he could remember, Stiles felt whole.

He took his phone out of his back pocket and snapped a few pictures as his dad pulled back from the embrace just far enough to pepper his mom’s face with small kisses. Stiles looked away and sent one of the pictures to Derek with the simple caption ‘Thank you.’

Within a few seconds, Stiles got a response that was just a picture of Laura sitting at the loft’s kitchen island laughing as Talia filled three teacups on the counter with a toothy grin. ‘You never have to thank me for anything ever again, Stiles.’

“Who are you talking to, Stiles? You’re grinning,” Claudia asked through a wet smile.

John kept an arm around her waist as he turned to look at Stiles. “Oh, that’s his Derek face.” 

Claudia muffled a laugh in her husband’s shoulder as Stiles squawked, “My WHAT face? Dad. I don’t have a - a Derek face. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you feeling alright? I don’t think you’re getting enough sunlight. I told you that you work too hard. You clearly need to get out more if you think - ”

Stiles was quite literally saved by the bell as their dinner arrived. The three of them looked at each other expectantly. 

“Don’t look at me,” Stiles said, standing up from his spot on the floor. “I’m poor.”

Claudia shrugged unhelpfully. “I was recently dead, so…”

John rolled his eyes at his family. “Fine, dinner’s on me.” He opened the door and tipped the delivery man generously as Stiles and Claudia laughed in the kitchen, already setting the table. 

John stopped for a moment after he closed the door and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and listened to his wife and son bickering and chuckling while they fumbled around with the silverware. He found himself praying to a god he wasn’t sure existed that he could keep things just like this forever.


	7. Pack movie night

Belly and heart full, Stiles left his parents to catch up in the kitchen and went to his room to call Lydia. He wanted to get the full scoop on the reunions but didn’t want to bother Scott while he was with Allison.

“Have a nice little reunion with Mama Hale?” In typical Lydia fashion, she skipped the niceties and went straight for the gullet. 

Stiles spluttered, “What? How the hell did you know that? There’s no way you could possibly know that.”

Stiles could envision her tossing her perfect strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. “Oh, honey. When are you going to realize I know everything?” Her voice softened. “But really, Stiles. I know your mom is back. How are you doing?”

This was the side of Lydia that Stiles had fallen in love with. The Lydia behind all the hair tossing and eye rolling. The one who was fiercely loyal and cared about her friends more than anyone knew. Stiles was happy to be over that particular crush now that he and Lydia were friends. He wouldn’t want to change a single thing about their current relationship.

He couldn’t help the smile creeping on his face at the mention of his mom. “I’m fine, Lyds. I’ve never seen my dad so happy. It still hasn’t sunken in fully, though. I’m half expecting her to vanish into a puff of smoke at any moment. How’s everything at your place?” 

Lydia tsk-ed at the nickname, but moved on quickly. “It’s great. Ally and Scott haven't separated since Chris brought her over. Any shyness they used to have when it came to PDA has clearly vanished,” she added dryly.

Stiles smiled at the thought of his best friend’s reunion with the love of his life. “Isaac’s with Boyd and Erica, he sent me a text earlier. So, wait.” He scratched the back of his neck like he does when he’s working out a problem. “Does that mean you brought back Dominic? And Scott brought back Laura?”

“Yup.” Lydia popped the ‘p’ and Stiles heard the distinct sound of her plopping onto her bed. “Apparently, Chris called Scott after the fight in the Preserve and told him he was planning to bring back Allison. So Scott decided to bring back Laura. They talked for a bit when she came back, then he sent her off to the loft and came here to wait for Allison. I think he still feels bad for you guys finding her body and digging up her corpse. Not to mention accusing Derek of killing her. You know, for a guy who has a history of making dumb decisions, he definitely made a good one here.”

“I can’t disagree with you - Laura’s awesome. Although I don’t think the two of you should ever meet. The world isn’t ready for a Laura Hale/Lydia Martin friendship.”

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “She called me from Derek’s phone like an hour ago. We already have brunch plans.”

Stiles shuddered. 

“I’m going to see her in a bit anyway,” Lydia continued. “No one’s going to get any sleep tonight, so we’re all planning to go to Derek’s loft for what I’m sure will turn into a huge hug fest. I was going to text you the details but then you called.”

“Ok. Eventually you’re going to tell me why you chose Dominic, right?”

“Are you telling me you can’t figure that one out on your own? Come on, Stiles. I’m sure you can think of a few reasons why I might have done it.”

Stiles rolled his eyes even though she couldn’t see him. “I didn’t say I don’t have a few theories.” He paused warily. “I’m just not sure what exactly your motivations were.”

“Well that’s for me to know and you to… maybe never know,” she replied loftily. “See you soon.” With that, she hung up.

Stiles skipped down the stairs, stumbling down the last few. His parents were in the living room cuddled up on the couch. “I’m headed over to the loft. Everyone’s meeting there for the reunions. You guys wanna come with?”

“No, honey, you go ahead. Are you going to be out all night…,” his mother inquired a bit too innocently.

“Yeah I’ll probably crash there or - oh wait.” His dad was stifling a laugh. “Oh, ew! Ew ohmygod no. This cannot be happening. I’m being sexiled by my parents. I’m leaving right now,” he called as he ran to the front door.

“Don’t hurry back, sweetheart, your father’s taking a sick day tomorrow,” his mom called after him.

Stiles stopped short of sticking his fingers in his ears, but was not above calling back. “La la la la la, I can’t hear you!” He shut the door firmly behind him and jogged to the Jeep, smiling in spite of himself.

Stiles was the first to arrive at the loft. He let himself in and was met with the sight of Derek leaning against the arm of the couch with his feet in Laura’s lap as she flipped through channels on the TV Stiles never knew Derek owned. Stiles had never seen Derek so relaxed. He was barefoot and back in soft sweats and an old Henley. Stiles silently padded over and sat on the floor in between the two Hales, staring idly at the TV while he waited for the others to arrive. 

At some point while they were waiting, Laura’s hand wandered to Stiles’ head and she began to run her fingers through his hair lazily. Stiles was struck by how comfortable he was. With Laura’s ministrations and the heat of Derek’s legs at his back, Stiles felt utterly content in a way he almost never had before.

Stiles was jolted from his reverie at the sound of footsteps outside the loft door. Derek sat up fully and Laura looked tense. Stiles could see the gold in her eyes and knew there were werewolves on the other side of the door. 

The door slid open hesitantly, as if whoever was behind it was worried about their reception.

The blonde curls were immediately recognizable, as was the strapping build of the human brick wall standing next to Isaac. 

Derek stood up so quickly Stiles barely registered that he had moved before Derek was around the coffee table. He stopped about ten feet from the door and looked utterly broken. His eyes went immediately to his fierce female beta and he uttered a strangled, “Erica?”

It was all she needed to hear before she launched herself into his arms. He swept her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his middle tightly. They clung to one another desperately, inhaling each other’s scents greedily. Derek still seemed too stunned to cry, and Erica was too preoccupied with readjusting her grip so it was tighter to shed any tears. Laura looked on with a soft smile, but didn’t move to introduce herself to the other two in the room; she knew that was an Alpha’s job, and she didn’t want to take that moment away from Derek.

Meanwhile, Stiles made his way over to where Boyd and Isaac were standing shell-shocked in the doorway. “I know there’s a 50-50 chance of you punching me, but I’m gonna hug you anyway,” he warned Boyd before enveloping the man in a tight but brief embrace.

Boyd smiled at him and made no move to push the boy away. “I’m happy to see you too, man,” he offered, clapping Stiles on the back before stepping back to look towards Derek and Erica.

Erica had disentangled herself from her Alpha and looked around the room wildly. Her sights fell on Stiles and she let out a choked “Batman!”

“Hey, Catwoman,” Stiles whispered, walking towards her quickly. She met him halfway and wrapped her arms around his neck more tightly than she may have if the situation hadn’t totally warranted a bear – or wolf – hug. She shut her eyes and focused on the scent of pack radiating throughout the loft. 

She and Stiles broke the hug, but interlocked their fingers as they stood side by side, not quite ready to break contact yet. They looked over to see Derek and Boyd joined in a fierce hug. This time, both men were crying. The last time they were in the loft together, Derek was forced to impale Boyd on his claws. The memory of that day will haunt them both for the rest of their lives, and Stiles is sure there’s a part of Derek that will never truly forgive himself for what happened, even though it could not have been further from his fault.

Stiles wiped a tear from Erica’s cheek and she huffed a laugh, shaking her head to pull her out of whatever moment she had been lost in.

Derek backed away from Boyd and turned to Laura. “Everyone, this is my sister, Laura Hale. Laura, these are my betas, Boyd, Isaac, and Erica.” He puffed out his chest proudly as he named his betas and if it wasn’t such a momentous occasion for the young Alpha, Stiles would be tempted to poke fun at his enthusiasm. As it was, he simply moved to stand closer to Derek to offer him silent support.

Erica let go of his hand as Stiles walked over to Derek and was the first one to introduce herself to Laura. “Hi, I’m Erica. It’s so great to meet you. Derek has told us, well… nothing about you.” She mock-glared at Derek.

Laura laughed. “I’ll try really hard not to take that too personally. I know my baby bro’s not much of a talker these days.” She elbowed him playfully and looked to the other two betas.

“Hmm,” Isaac hummed appreciatively while looking Laura over. She raised an eyebrow in his direction and Derek growled softly. Isaac shook his head quickly and had the good sense to look horrified before he moved to stand behind Boyd. He peeked his head out from behind Boyd’s shoulder and gave Laura a quick “Hello,” before retreating to safety.

Boyd nodded at Laura, who nodded back.

“Ok,” Stiles piped up. “Now that introductions are over, who wants to pick the movie? I’m thinking a pack movie night is in order.”

The six of them fell into an easy routine of movie picking and popcorn making, and settled in to wait for the others to arrive. Erica plastered herself to Derek’s side and pulled Boyd down on the couch to sit next to her so she was bracketed by the two wolves. Isaac took the floor in between Erica and Boyd’s legs. Stiles occupied the recliner while Laura sat on its arm with her legs draped over Stiles’ lap. The two of them bickered quietly about which Jedi would have made the best Sith. They only stopped when Laura threw a fistful of popcorn at Stiles’ face, which Stiles obviously took as a sign of surrender.

“Der?” Erica looked tentatively up at Derek from her position under his arm. He raised his eyebrow in question. “Where’s your mom? Isaac said… he said she was one of the Risen.”

Derek smiled down at his beta. Stiles’ heart hitched momentarily at the sight of Derek’s bunny teeth, but thankfully Laura was the only one paying enough attention to notice. She gave Stiles a smirk that he pretended not to see and then turned her attention back to Derek. “She went to pay Deaton a visit. He used to be her emissary, so he would have felt her return. She figured she owed him a visit anyway. I get the feeling she isn’t too happy with how he handled things after her death.” A dark look shadowed his previously content face before he shook himself out of it and came back to the present. 

Boyd cocked his head to the side. “Will he go back to being her emissary now that she has returned?” He refrained from voicing his opinion on the matter before the question was answered. This tactful quality was why Derek was going to ask Boyd to officially be his second before his death.

“No, he hasn’t been an emissary in quite some time. I doubt he’d come out of retirement.” Derek’s eyes darted to Stiles to see how he’d take the news.

Stiles sighed a breath of relief. “Good, that guy gives me the creeps. Never gives you a straight answer.”

Laura looked between the two of them curiously. “You don’t have an emissary, Derek? I would have thought - ”

“No, I don’t,” he cut her off sharply, but not unkindly.

Forgetting that they were expecting visitors, Stiles panicked at the sound of feet coming up the stairwell and waved his hand frantically at the loft door, locking it in place with his spark.

Laura, Erica, and Boyd all looked startled at this development, having never seen Stiles perform magic before. 

“Stiles, it’s Scott and Lydia.” Derek’s voice was gentle, as if he was soothing a scared puppy.

Stiles regained control of his racing heart and hesitated before taking the lock off the door. Scott meant Allison. He took a deep breath before he unlocked and opened the loft door.

Scott and Lydia appeared to be alone. Stiles craned his neck to see if he could spot Allison in the hall, but it was empty.

By the time the two were fully inside the loft, everyone was on their feet. It was Isaac who asked the obvious question. “Where’s Allison?” 

Lydia rolled her eyes and replied, “She’s hiding in the car.”

Scott looked overwhelmed and added, “I told her it was ridiculous to hide, but she’s really nervous to see everyone.”

Of the eight people now crowding the loft, Scott seemed to be the only one who believed that Allison’s fears were unwarranted.

Lydia shook her head at him. “Scott, it’s not ridiculous. I tried to explain this to you before we got in the car. She tried to kill Erica and Boyd when she went nuts over her mom’s death, she broke Isaac’s heart when she confessed her love for you before dying in your arms while they were still together, Laura only knows her as an Argent and she has every right to hate people with that name, and Stiles still blames himself for her death,” she shoots him an apologetic glance and continues, “When the person she has the most normal relationship with in this room is Derek Hale, she knows she’s in trouble. Sorry, Der.” Six months ago he would have growled at her, but instead he just winked and squeezed her shoulder. 

“It’s ok. You’re right, Lyds.” Derek looked around the room and asked democratically, “Does anyone have a problem with Allison coming up to the loft?”

Laura’s eyes burned yellow, but she waited until everyone else cast their vote to speak.

Boyd shook his head. “I don’t have a problem with it. The past is the past and it sounds like she more than paid for what she did to us.”

Erica growled softly but nodded. “I’m with Boyd. But if she tries to kill me again, all bets are off.” Scott looked like he wanted to say something at that, but he wisely stayed silent.

Isaac looked like a kicked puppy but shook his head as well. “She meant – means a lot to me. I just want to see her.”

Laura looked to Stiles curiously. Of everyone in the room besides Derek, it seemed like she trusted his judgment more than the rest. Derek filed that bit of information away to talk to Laura about later. Stiles cleared his throat. “I… do – do you mind if I’m the one who goes down and gets her? I kinda want to talk to her without prying ears.” He looked down as if expecting everyone in the room to erupt with outrage at his suggestion. 

“I think she would really like that, Stiles,” Lydia answered for the group.

All eyes turned to Laura. “Well I don’t know about allowing an Argent onto Hale property, but if both Derek and Stiles think it’s ok, then I guess I’m fine with it.” She whined softly towards Derek, who put a steadying hand on the back of her neck.

“Go ahead, Stiles,” Derek said.

Stiles stuck around long enough to hear introductions being made, and he saw Lydia pull Derek aside briefly for a soft, “You ok?” He watched as Derek give her a private smile and nod before they turned back to the rest of the group.

The walk down the stairs towards the parking lot felt a lot like walking the plank. Stiles’ breath hitched as he spotted Melissa’s car with a dark figure in the passenger seat. He approached the car slowly, concentrating on breathing evenly as he got closer, and knocked on the driver’s side window before opening the door. The passenger looked up through the dark curtain of hair that had fallen over her face. 

“Hey, Ally.”


	8. Angry mob

Allison slowly looked up from her clenched hands. When she locked eyes with Stiles, it was as if they had both forgotten how to breathe. It was all Stiles could do not to look away and run back up to the safety of the loft. Instead, he lowered himself into the driver’s side seat and closed the door behind him.

“Stiles, before you say anything, I just need you to know I don’t blame you.” Stoic as ever, Allison’s eyes remained dry. Her jaw was set in the way it gets when she is resolved to make someone see her point of view. Stiles couldn’t help the fond smile that formed on his face at the sight of it.

Stiles sighed resignedly. “How could you not?” He shook his head softly as all the tension left his shoulders in a slump. “The - the Nogitsune took over my mind, Allison. I was too weak to fight it off. I called the Oni, and one of them killed you while you were trying to save me,” he rattled off clinically, as if listing the series of events that had led to her death in such a logical way would lead her to finally realizing how much it really was all Stiles’ fault.

“You’re not wrong.”

Stiles’ blood ran cold and his spine straightened at hearing those words leave Allison’s mouth. He focused on breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth and looked straight ahead as he gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Allison steeled herself in her seat and continued, “The Nogitsune did take over your mind… After your mind had been weakened when you died in a ritual we used to save the life of my father. You were too weak to fight it off because that ritual opened a literal door into your mind. You cannot blame yourself for not closing it before the Nogitsune got in.”

“Yes, I can,” Stiles choked out, still not looking at Allison.

“You can’t,” she countered immediately. “It took you just as long to close the door into your mind as it did a True Alpha. Do you think Scott is weak?”

“Ally, that’s not the same - ” Stiles tried.

“It took me, the head of the Argent hunting family, one of the oldest in the world, the same amount of time. Do you think I’m weak?”

“I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to - ”

“Stiles Stilinski, you have been running with wolves since you were barely old enough to drive. You have fearlessly taken on rogue werewolves, kanimas, an Alpha pack, a darach, the list goes on. You did all of this to save your friends and family, and the lives of people you didn’t even know. And I know Scott told me you’ve been practicing magic, which I think is great. But you did all of that without the benefit of being magical or supernatural.”

Stiles stared at her in disbelief. 

There’s no way she has forgiven me this easily. I killed her. I KILLED her.

By the wrecked look on Allison’s face, Stiles had said that last part out loud. Allison turned and grabbed Stiles’ shoulders so they were facing each other over the center console. 

“You did not kill me, and I won’t have you saying you did.” Her words left no room for argument, but they still didn’t make sense to Stiles.  
He was absolutely gutted. Not only was he being forgiven, but Allison seemed to think there was nothing to forgive in the first place. How did Stiles get so lucky to be surrounded by so many people who loved him unconditionally, when just two years ago his only friend in the world was Scott?

“Allison, I don’t… I don’t know what to say. I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for what happened to you. I just can’t.” His voice was no louder than a whisper as a tear finally fell down his face.

Allison swallowed nervously. They were no longer touching, but they still faced each other. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So where does that leave us, Stiles?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I played this scenario out a million times in my head since I saw your name come out of that altar, and in none of them did you forgive me. So I’m a little lost, here,” he chuckled self-deprecatingly. 

It was tensely quiet in the car while they both thought about what to do next.

It was Allison who broke the silence. “Stiles, did you miss me?” 

“What? Ally, of course I missed you, how could you thi - ”

Allison interrupted quickly, “No, that’s not what I meant. I just mean, you missed me. And we’re both happy to see each other, right?” She raised her eyebrows and waited for Stiles to answer.

“Right…,” Stiles said hesitantly.

“So maybe that’s enough for now. We can be happy to see each other, and go back to being friends who mean a great deal to each other. And slowly, I’ll help you learn that I don’t hold you responsible for what happened to me. Do you think you can do that?”

Stiles finally broke down into tears. He collapsed into Allison, who threw her arms around him instinctively. They sat like that for a while, sobbing in each others’ arms. 

Eventually they broke their embrace, both wiping the remnants of tears off of their faces. 

Stiles sniffled, “I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you, Allison Argent.” He shook his head and looked at her in wonder.

“I was just thinking the same thing about you, Stiles Stilinski.” She smiled the smile Stiles had only seen in his dreams the last few months. All white teeth and telltale dimples. He couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face in return. And for the first time in a long while, the smile reached his eyes.

They got out of the car and linked arms, walking towards the loft with their heads held high. Stiles felt unburdened in a way he hadn’t since before the Nogitsune.

“So,” Allison wondered out loud while chewing her bottom lip. “What should I expect upstairs? Angry mob?” Her joke fell flat as she continued to worry at her lip.

“Well I’d say you have some serious groveling to do where Boyd and Erica are concerned. And you’re going to have a hell of a time getting Laura to trust you ever. Oh, and you definitely need to have a conversation with Isaac at some point.” Allison’s eyes widened incrementally as Stiles spoke and they now resembled saucers. “But,” he finished quickly, “I think you’ll be surprised at how warm your reception is.”

“Warm,” she repeated wryly, cocking her eyebrow.

“Well, lukewarm maybe.” Stiles winked as they made it to the top of the stairs. 

The loft door opened to reveal Scott hovering just inside the doorway. He ran out and grabbed Allison’s hand to lead her inside ahead of Stiles.  
When Stiles entered just after them, he saw Allison and Scott on one side of the room, and the rest of the pack on the other. Not liking the picture this seemingly subconscious divide made, he rushed to stand in the middle. Allison shot him a grateful smile before turning her attention to the rest of the room. Her eyes searched for Isaac first.

“Isaac,” she smiled warmly. She approached him cautiously, as if she wasn’t sure how he would react upon seeing her again. She realized her fears were unfounded when he walked forward swiftly and pulled her into a tight hug. 

Scott growled softly but refrained from reaching out to the pair.

“Relax, buddy,” Isaac laughed as he released Allison. 

“Yeah,” Stiles piped up in an attempt to diffuse the tension, “I think the Fae Prince has a lock on that anyway.”

Lydia hid a smirk behind her hand as Isaac blushed beet red. 

“There’s nothing going on with me and Pahn,” Isaac mumbled.

Erica poked him in the side. “Oh yeah? Is that why you couldn’t stop talking about him while Boyd and I were puppy piled with you when we came back?” Her grin was predatory and she opened her mouth to speak again until - 

“Leave him alone,” Derek ordered with a touch of Alpha in his voice. 

Isaac smiled shyly and gratefully at the Alpha. Things between him and Derek had been somewhat strained since Derek had to kick him out of the loft when the Alpha pack had attacked, but Stiles sincerely hoped the return of Erica and Boyd would help ease that relationship a bit.

Erica turned her grin to Allison instead. “Welcome back, little huntress. Not planning to try and kill any of us any time soon, are you?” She unleashed her claws and pretended to idly clean them as she spoke.

Allison flushed and managed to get out a quiet, “No, I’m not. I’m really sorry about that. For what it’s worth, I mean.”

Erica sighed and rolled her eyes. At a pointed look from Scott - which she ignored - and from Derek - which she didn’t, Erica replied imperiously, “Fiiiine, but I expect at least a little bit of groveling sometime soon.”

Allison nodded in acknowledgement and made the rounds to the rest of the room. After a silent but slightly hesitant nod from Boyd, and a tentative exchange of small smiles from Derek, there was just Laura left. 

Allison approached her bravely with her hand outstretched. Laura tweaked an eyebrow at it, but made no move to take it.

She dropped her hand and gulped. “Nice to meet you, you must be Laura?” Stiles had to give her some credit; Allison looked Laura straight in the eyes as she spoke.

Laura looked at Allison appraisingly and tilted her head. “I’m sure you’ll understand why I don’t look particularly pleased to see an Argent here.” Allison nodded, her expression blank. “But Derek seems to trust you, as does Stiles. However, I need to make one thing perfectly plain.” Her eyes flashed beta gold. “If you hurt my family, I will hurt yours.”

Allison clenched her jaw briefly before responding. “Understood,” she said with a single nod.

After the tension left the room, everyone split off into their own conversations. Stiles sat in the armchair and just watched everyone talking and laughing, and felt completely at ease. He looked around to find Derek and saw him disappearing up the spiral staircase with Laura and Lydia in tow. Stiles suddenly had a lapful of Catwoman as she and Boyd made their way over to him, so he shook Derek out of his mind and focused on getting Erica and Boyd up to speed on everything they had missed.


	9. Derek's POV

Following Laura and Allison’s exchange, Derek reached over and put his hand on Lydia’s shoulder. Something he learned in the past few months as their friendship had grown was that touch was something that they both enjoyed, though neither knew quite how to ask for it. They came to a mutual understanding early on and soon after that, shoulder squeezes, hand grabs, and even short hugs became a staple in their friendship. 

Derek ignored the questioning look from Allison at his casual contact with Lydia and leaned forward to whisper, “Can I talk to you for a second?” into Lydia’s ear.

“Of course,” she replied earnestly.

He nodded at Laura to follow them and led the two up the spiral staircase into the spare bedroom. It was the only room in the loft that was soundproofed.

Once inside the room, Laura and Lydia both situated themselves on the bed, sitting cross-legged facing Derek. Seeing both of them side by side terrified Derek – he almost regretted letting the two of them meet. They were both fierce separately but together they would be unstoppable. As if reading his mind, the two women exchanged wicked smirks before turning their attention to Derek who was standing in the middle of the room.

He sucked in a breath to steady himself. “Lyds, I need to know. I need to know why you brought back our Uncle Dom.” He looked hesitant to bring up the topic of Peter around her, even tangentially.

But she just smiled. “I figured you’d be asking me that sooner or later. I did it for the pack,” she said simply.

“For – for the pack?” Derek had come up with a million different possibilities in his head, but that had not been one of them. “What do you mean?”  
Even Laura looked like she wasn’t following Lydia’s reasoning.

Lydia, who was no stranger to having to explain the way her mind worked, simply flipped her hair over her shoulder and clarified, “We have a strong pack, Derek. Even before we gained new members,” she paused to smile in Laura’s direction, “we were strong, but we had a glaring weakness. Peter.”

“I’m not sure you can call Peter weak,” Laura chimed in with furrowed brows. “I mean, he managed to kill me.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Not in terms of strength. He made the pack weak because he was unpredictable. There’s not a single member of the pack who can trust Peter, and that alone threatens our stability. So I did some digging into Peter’s life before the fire. After what he did to me, I wanted to find something I could use against him if it came to that.”

“And you found Dom.” Derek nodded along with Lydia, starting to see a picture emerge.

“I figured that if we couldn’t kill Peter, and we couldn’t trust Peter, we would have to try and change him instead. And who better to do that than his mate? I can’t imagine what losing a mate must feel like. But I have to believe Peter’s instability stems mainly from the severing of the mate bond. In bringing that link back to him, my hope is that it will also bring back the old Peter. The one you two knew…” she trailed off into a whisper and ducked her head. “I had to do something.” Her lip trembled. Laura reached out to comfort her and after a nod from Lydia, began rubbing calming circles onto her back.

Lydia continued speaking at a whisper with her head bowed, body angled towards Laura slightly. “Y – you don’t understand, Der. This pack is all I have. But to have to look at Peter every time we were all together and know what he had done to me… and not know if he was going to do something like that again? I don’t know how much longer I would have been able to take that. So I had to use this opportunity. I had to. He didn’t just hurt me physically.”

Both Derek and Laura growled subconsciously at that. Laura tucked a stray strand of hair behind Lydia’s ear and went back to rubbing circles on her back. 

“I mean, he did, obviously. But he… he – ugh!” With a frustrated groan, she looked up imploringly at Derek.

It was unlike Lydia not to be able to find her words. That more than anything prompted Derek to walk swiftly over to the bed and sit on Lydia’s other side. He grabbed the hand that was furiously working a hole in her pants. Lydia interlocked their fingers gratefully and tried again.

“You know I’ve always valued my mind. Even when I was pretending to be a ditz, I – It was always something I could rely on. There was always something I could do or learn and nothing else mattered. I could sit through lunch talking about who liked who and be secretly translating the conversation into Latin in my head to keep me from going insane. I could be texting someone about what we were going to wear to a party that weekend while I memorized a textbook on advanced mathematic equations. I could always rely on my mind. It kept me sane.”

Lydia squeezed Derek’s hand and continued.

“When Peter infiltrated my mind to resurrect himself, it broke me. I could no longer trust my own mind. There was no scar to cover up or bruise that would fade. He took my mind away from me. He - he took my comfort away from me.” She finished in a hiccupping sob and leaned fully into Derek, who wasted no time in wrapping his arm around her. 

When her sobs subsided, she straightened up and wiped the last of her tears off of her face. “So, I had to do it. I couldn’t kill Peter. Not that I didn’t know how – I thought about exactly how I would do it all the time. But I couldn’t kill the last of your family.”

She sniffled and ran her hand over her pants, smoothing out the creases. Lydia raised her head proudly. “But I wasn’t going to give Peter everything he wanted without making him work for it a little. So before sending him in Peter’s direction, I told Dom everything Peter had done after the fire. Peter’s going to have some major groveling to do,” she smirked, her eyes lighting up with mischief. 

Laura eyed Lydia with reverent amazement. 

“You really are something else, Lydia Martin,” she remarked, shaking her head.


	10. The feeling of family

The trio rejoined the group downstairs to find that Talia had returned from her talk with Deaton. There was a slight frown on her face, but her eyes were warm and inviting as she took in the pack.

“Mom!” Laura bounded down the staircase and took her place at her mother’s side. Derek followed more sedately and stopped to stand at his mother’s other shoulder. 

“Everyone,” he said tentatively, “This is my mother, Alpha Talia Hale.” There were handshakes exchanged all around. 

Talia’s gaze fell to Allison.

Talia straightened to full height and let her eyes bleed into their Alpha red. “Allison Argent?” 

Allison squared her shoulders and met Talia’s gaze. “Yes, Alpha Hale?”

The pack had formed a circle around the pair. Stiles could tell Scott was itching to intervene and stand next to Allison or provide some sort of support, but he stayed back. 

“Stiles has told me a great deal about you, Ms. Argent.” Allison stole a quick glance towards Stiles, whose face was blank. He knew he had said many things about Allison, both good and bad, but all true. Not knowing what specifically Talia was referencing, Stiles fought to keep his face neutral.

“He says you are the head of the Argent hunting family, it that correct?”

Allison turned her eyes back to Talia. “It was true when I died, Alpha Hale. Now that I am back, I suspect it will be again.”

“In that case, I would like to meet with you formally to discuss the terms of my return and the returns of Laura Hale, Erica Reyes, and Vernon Boyd. I understand you had a sort of truce with the werewolves of Beacon Hills, but it is my experience that hunters enjoy loopholes. I do not want there to be any misunderstandings where we are concerned now that we are back.”

“Certainly. My father just informed me that he has spoken with the heads of the nearby hunting families. They are aware of your return and have orders to stick to the code.”

Talia inclined her head in recognition. “Very well. I will need a day to discuss a few details with the pack. May we meet on neutral ground the day after tomorrow? Please bring your father as well.”

Allison nodded once. “Of course. I’m leaving now anyway to see him. We will work out the details and be in touch.”

At that, Allison strode out of the loft with a quick kiss to Scott’s cheek and a promise to call him in the morning. 

The lines of Talia’s shoulders relaxed and her eyes returned to their chocolate brown color as she turned to Derek and Scott. “We need to discuss the state of the pack.”

Derek’s eyes turned down briefly in acknowledgement before meeting his mother’s gaze. Scott however looked perplexed. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with the pack?”

“There’s nothing wrong with the pack,” Stiles interjected. “But there are three Alphas now. Things were getting tense enough with two.”

“Three?” Erica’s voice was timid as she chimed in. “I thought Laura was an Alpha too…”

Laura’s eyes flashed beta gold. “Nope. I was killed for my Alpha power, so I technically died a beta. Can’t say that I miss it much, though.”

Talia took back control of the conversation at that point. “Derek, Scott, we will need to meet tomorrow with your seconds to discuss how the pack will proceed. Laura will act as my second. Who will act as yours?”

Derek turned his head to Lydia, who looked surprised momentarily before returning her face to its previously neutral expression. “I am Derek’s second,” she offered confidently.

Scott avoided Stiles’ eyes. “Isaac,” Scott supplied hesitantly. “Isaac is my second.” Stiles felt a flash of jealousy and betrayal before tamping it down. Isaac spared Stiles a glance before striding over to stand on Scott’s right. 

Talia raised an eyebrow at hearing that one of her son’s betas was Scott’s second, but said nothing. 

“Very well. Stiles,” she turned to address the boy directly, “I would like for you to attend this meeting as well. As future emissary, you should have a say in how your pack is run.”

Stiles filed away Talia’s quick assumption about his emissary status and simply nodded his head in affirmation.

“Excellent. In that case, I am off to bed. I don’t know about all of you,” she looked at Erica, Boyd and Laura in particular, “but coming back from the dead is exhausting.” The pack laughed in surprise and split off into side conversations now that the important matters had been dealt with. “Derek, dear, I suppose Laura and I will be taking the guest room?” Derek nodded. Talia cupped Derek’s face in her hand, her thumb running against his cheekbone. She pulled his face towards hers and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. His eyes closed momentarily at the contact. “I’ll see you in the morning, darling. You stay down here with your betas. They will no doubt need you in their – what did Stiles call it? – puppy pile.” She smiled and dropped her hand.

Talia and Laura disappeared up the spiral staircase, leaving Derek, Scott, Stiles, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, and Lydia in the loft’s main living area.

Once the door closed, Derek pulled Scott out of his conversation with Isaac immediately. “What do you mean, Isaac is your second?” Derek’s face matched his furious tone.

Scott wrenched his arm out of Derek’s grip and spat back petulantly, “I mean he’s my second. What did you think I meant?” 

“What about Stiles?” Derek’s eyes were wide and incredulous. “Your second is supposed to be someone strong who you can rely on. Someone smart and knowledgeable and well versed in pack dynamics. Someone you trust implicitly. Tell me, Scott, how does Stiles not fit all of those categories?”

Stiles shrank back to sit on the couch. He knew Scott chose Isaac because of the Nogitsune. He didn’t blame Scott that much. It hurt that his own best friend didn’t trust him enough to want him to be his second, but Stiles was having a hard enough time trusting himself to try to convince anyone else to trust him.

“Well then why isn’t he your second, Derek? Huh?” Scott’s red eyes flashed at being publicly confronted with his choice. He saw Boyd and Erica flank Derek but he paid them no mind.

Derek flashed his eyes back at Scott. “Because he’s your best friend, just like Lydia’s mine. And I thought he would be your second, I wasn’t about to take that away from you. This is your loss, Scott. Stiles would be an excellent second.”

Ignoring everything else Derek had said, Scott replied, “So you don’t think Isaac will be a good second? But you saw enough potential in him to turn him into a werewolf. Why did you do that if you didn’t think he’d be good enough?” At this, Stiles stood up from the couch and approached the pair.

“That’s enough, Scott.” He once again ignored the slight flinch from Scott as he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Enough.”

Stiles looked at Derek. “I understand why Scott didn’t choose me. It’s ok. I get it.” He removed his hand from Scott’s shoulder.

Derek was not appeased. “Stiles, it’s not ok. The only people who still blame you for what happened when you were possessed are you and Scott. That’s not ok.” Lydia stepped forward to place her hand on Derek’s arm lightly while the man regained his composure.

Scott looked helplessly at his best friend. “Stiles, you know I don’t blame you. Not really. I know you weren’t you, and that what happened wasn’t your fault. I just – ” His puppy dog eyes were out in full force.

Stiles scratched the back of his neck nervously and chuckled without humor. “I know, Scotty. Doesn’t mean you don’t shy away when I touch you, or that you don’t dream about something with my face stabbing you. I get that it’s gonna take some time for us to get back to where we were. But I’m willing to wait. You’re my brother,” he finished with a simple shrug.

Scott let out a deep breath and nodded. “Just don’t give up on me, man. I love you, I really do. And I’m working on it. I’m really trying.”

He pulled Stiles into a tight brief hug that Stiles returned. When they separated, Scott turned to Derek and offered, “Sorry. I’m still getting the hang of this whole Alpha thing. I shouldn’t have chosen one of your betas as my second without talking to you about it first. I just… I trust him and he’s strong.”

“I know. Don’t worry about it,” Derek grunted and offered Isaac a smirk. “He’ll be a great second for you, Scott.”

Isaac seemed overwhelmed by all the positive attention, so Lydia rescued him by refocusing the conversation, which earned her a grateful smile.  
“So,” she said. “Anyone up for a movie? I know just the one – .”

“We are not watching The Notebook,” Derek interrupted with finality.

“Oh, Der.” She smiled at him sweetly. “Think back to all the times you’ve said that to me over the past few months. What did we end up watching?”

Derek sighed and tried to ignore the giggles coming from his betas and Stiles. Scott still looked amazed at the relationship between the two.

“The Notebook,” Derek mumbled under his breath.

Everyone laughed as they dispersed. Derek and Stiles were ushered off to get the snacks and drinks, while the rest started the movie and claimed seats.

“Hey, thanks, by the way,” Stiles said as he rummaged thorough Derek’s cupboards for snacks. “For what you said earlier.” He ducked his head to hide the blush rising to his cheeks.

Derek shuffled his feet awkwardly while digging into the refrigerator for drinks for the pack. “I meant it, you know. You’d make an excellent second.”

Stiles smiled at him and nudged him towards the living room with his shoulder. “Let’s go, Mushywolf. We’ve got snacks to deliver.”

The pack settled in for the night, content to simply watch a movie and be in each other’s presence. Every once in a while someone would catch another pack member’s eye and they would share a smile. But no words were traded and by the time the movie had ended, everyone was sleeping comfortably surrounded by the scent of pack and the feeling of family.


	11. Wonderfully domestic

Stiles woke to find himself drooling on Derek’s shoulder with Erica’s elbow poking into his back. Not the most comfortable of positions, but he couldn’t bring himself to be anything but happy. He stood up and stretched any remnants of sleep out of his muscles and made his way to the loft’s kitchen to start some coffee.

He found Boyd and Isaac already up. Boyd was flipping some pancakes while Isaac manned the eggs. They couldn’t have been awake for very long since the coffee Stiles helped himself to was still hot. 

The three existed in companionable silence until Stiles, who couldn’t help but notice the way Isaac’s eyes kept flicking between Boyd and the rest of the sleeping pack, broke it. “What are you lookin’ at, buddy?”

Isaac smiled sheepishly and replied, “I still sort of can’t believe they’re back. I mean… it just seems too easy.” His smile turned into a toothy grin when his eyes locked with Boyd’s. 

Boyd sent Isaac a fond closed mouth smile and went back to start the next batch of pancakes. 

“I know what you mean,” Stiles confessed quietly. “I’m half convinced that my mom won’t be there when I get home.”

The kitchen was quiet after that, with everyone waking up at their own pace. Erica grumbled unhappily with her head resting on her folded arms once she was seated at the island. She wiggled her fingers pointedly until Stiles forced a mug of coffee into her hand with a laugh. She raised her head in thanks and quirked an eyebrow when she heard Stiles’ heartbeat go crazy. She turned to see what had caused the reaction, but put her head back down when she realized Stiles was just looking at Derek who had entered the kitchen and was blinking sleepily. 

Derek rubbed his eyes and looked at his betas and his mate preparing breakfast. His mouth curved into a smile almost against his will as he sat at the small table by the window next to the kitchen. 

The four wolves looked up to the top of the staircase when they heard a door open. Talia descended the stairs regally, having already showered and gotten ready for the day. Laura on the other hand looked like she was sleepwalking. She plopped down on the stool next to Erica and mirrored her position with her head on her arms. Erica opened one eye long enough to glance at Laura, and slid her coffee over. Laura gave Erica the most sleepily hopeful look Stiles had ever seen and took a grateful gulp before sliding it back.

Talia sat herself down beside Derek and asked, “Where are Lydia and Scott?”

Stiles topped off Erica’s mug with some coffee from his freshly made pot and strode over to the cabinet to get Laura one of her very own. 

“They left this morning after Boyd and I got up. Not sure where they went,” offered Isaac shyly from his position at the stove. “Would you like some eggs, Alpha Hale?” 

Derek snorted softly at Isaac addressing his mother so formally. From the sudden jolt he made, Stiles was sure Talia had kicked him under the table for it.

“If they taste as wonderful as they smell, I would love some, dear. And please, call me Talia.” She smiled warmly at Isaac, prompting a similar smile from the boy.

The seven of them ate their pancakes and eggs and drank their coffee in silence, enjoying each other’s company until Scott and Lydia reappeared at the front door. There was a shopping bag in Scott’s hand and two phones in Lydia’s. She handed one to Talia and placed the other on the counter by Laura’s head.

“These are for you,” she stated loftily. “I’ve already programmed in everyone’s numbers and your chargers and accessories are in the bag.” With a look from Lydia, Scott gave the bag to Talia, who accepted it with an appreciative nod.

“Thank you, Lydia.” She looked at the iPhone wryly. “This is quite the upgrade from the flip phone I used to have…” She began tapping away at the screen, testing her new phone’s messaging capabilities. 

“Thank Derek, he paid for them,” she replied, looking pleased.

Derek just closed his eyes and held his hand out expectantly with a resigned face. Lydia plopped his credit card into his outstretched hand and placed a kiss on the top of his head with a loud cartoon smack.

She turned to the rest of the pack and clapped her hands once. “Ok Erica, Laura, look alive – no pun intended - we are going shopping today before the big Alpha meeting.” Both Laura and Erica groaned while Boyd and Isaac chuckled. 

“I don’t know what the two of you look so happy about. You boys are going shopping too. Boyd and Erica have both grown out of whatever clothes their families may have kept, and Laura needs a whole new wardrobe. Someone has to carry the bags.”

“Hey, what about Stiles?” Isaac whined. “Why isn’t he being forced to go shopping? Or Scott?”

Lydia rolled her eyes and took a sip of the coffee Stiles had brought her. “Stiles is going to spend the day with his mom. And Scott will probably want to be with Allison all morning.”

Stiles laughed dryly. “I will NOT be spending the day with mom.” Scott and Isaac tipped their heads to the side like confused puppies, which Stiles would have found amusing in any other situation. “I’ve been sexiled,” he explained.

His eyes widened in horror as he remembered that Talia was there as well. But she just laughed and held up her new phone. “Claudia has indeed requested that Stiles be kept busy today.” 

The pack laughed, even as Stiles stomped away petulantly to sit on the couch by himself with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“You are welcome to spend the day with us, Stiles,” Talia called from the kitchen.

Stiles grumbled his assent as the snickers died down.

Scott left soon after to go find Allison and the rest went off to the local mall (after Lydia once again swiped Derek’s credit card from his pocket while he pretended not to notice – she knew it secretly pleased him to be providing for his pack), leaving Stiles alone with Talia and Derek. Talia and Stiles conversed amiably and did the dishes while Derek took a shower and changed. Stiles borrowed some of Derek’s smaller clothes and did the same when he was done. It all felt wonderfully domestic.

The rest of the morning passed comfortably. Talia made a few phone calls – including one to Cora, who had demanded that she speak with her mother before getting on a plane, so she could confirm for herself that this wasn’t some sick joke – while Derek and Stiles read on the couch in the living room. Stiles had found an old tome on Derek’s bookshelf and was reading up on the section about the Fae in case there was something in it that contradicted his earlier research. Derek was sitting straight up with an old worn out paperback until Talia took it upon herself to drape a soft blanket around him. He looked startled and unsure of what to do. The concept of someone taking care of him was quite foreign to Derek. But eventually he leaned back into the blanket and sent his mother a grateful smile. 

Every so often, Stiles would glance up from his tome to see Derek look away quickly, as if he had been caught looking at something he shouldn’t have been.

Each of those times, Stiles found himself hoping that the thing Derek had been looking at was him, but he knew that couldn’t have been the case.  
A few hours after breakfast, Laura returned laden with shopping bags. She looked exhausted but pleased. Talia took a few off her hands and the two ascended the staircase to put away Laura’s new wardrobe, as well as a few things Lydia had insisted on purchasing for Talia until the Alpha could supplement her own wardrobe.

As soon as Stiles heard the door to the soundproofed room close, he turned to Derek expectantly. “I think we should talk.”

“Yeah, that sounds like something I would enjoy doing,” Derek responded dryly without looking up from his book.

Stiles groaned and put the tome down gently on the coffee table. “I’m serious. I just think there are some things we need to discuss, you know? Clear the air…” He trailed off when he finally took in the sight of Derek sitting comfortably on the other side of the couch. The blanket was still wrapped around him tightly and at some point, Derek had tucked his legs underneath himself. “Hm… Comfywolf,” Stiles muttered through a grin.

Derek looked up and squinted suspiciously. “What was that?”

Stiles shook his head. “Nothing! I was just saying we need to talk. Do some good old fashioned air clearing and all that.” He ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. 

“Is there something specific you wanted to talk about?” Derek’s eyes were darting around the room, no doubt planning an escape route.

Stiles snorted. “Nah, not really. I mean, we brought each other’s mothers back from the dead and your mom said I’m the future pack emissary, but you’re right… nothing to discuss.”

Derek saved his place in the book and put it down. He uncurled his legs from underneath him and turned to face Stiles, hiking one leg up so it was bent on the couch in front of him. 

“Fine. About the emissary thing… I was going to ask you officially, but I’d been waiting for the right time.”

“Ask me officially?”

“To be the pack emissary. After I found out you were practicing magic, it just seemed like an obvious progression.” Derek shrugged. “I mean, you had all the qualities of an emissary before that and I guess I just thought you’d be good at it.”

Stiles leaned into Derek’s space to give the wolf a playful shove. “Aww! Thanks, man. Wait… what do you mean ‘found out’?” He furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. 

Derek, who hadn’t moved an inch when Stiles shoved him but had looked down to hid a grin, shot his head up with wide guilty eyes. He grimaced momentarily before forcing a blank look on his face.

“Um.”

“Um? That’s all you’re giving me?”

Derek shifted so he was facing forward on the couch again, back straight as a board.

“Well, you know how I sometimes patrol the area around pack houses?” At Stiles’ nod, Derek continued. “I heard you chanting one night and got curious, so I jumped up onto the roof outside your room and saw you levitating some things on your desk.”

Stiles was still suspicious. Derek was acting way too shifty. 

“Oh, is that why I found a candy wrapper outside my window? You left it there that night?” Stiles asked innocently.

Derek let out a sigh of relief as the tension left his shoulders. “Yes, sorry about that.”

“Mm hmm. Derek. I found that wrapper two weeks before Deaton taught me levitation.” Stiles full out laughed when Derek covered his face with his hands and leaned forward so his elbows were resting on his knees.

Derek groaned loudly and Stiles launched himself onto the floor by Derek’s feet, pulling at his hands with a big grin on his face.

“Noooo, don’t hide! You’ve been looking out for me?”

Derek peeked out between two of his fingers and let out a petulant “Yes.” He shrank back and tensed as if he was expecting Stiles to get mad at him, but when he heard a soft “Thanks,” he dropped his hands away from his face and looked down at Stiles curiously. 

The boy was kneeling next to the couch, almost eye level with Derek. Stiles’ hands were still gripping Derek’s forearms from his attempts to wrench the man’s hands away from his face. There was a soft fond look in his eyes that Derek had never seen directed at him before. His first instinct was to look away, but something about how earnest Stiles looked kept him from breaking his gaze.

“Thank you, Derek.”

Derek shook his head incredulously. “For what?”

Stiles leaned closer so their faces were only inches apart. He raised his eyebrows in jest. “You want a list?” he whispered. “For saving my life countless times, for helping us even when we were horrible to you. For sticking around when you had every reason to leave. For working so hard to free me from the Nogitsune. For bringing my mother back to me.” Stiles’ tongue flicked out to wet his lips, drawing Derek’s gaze as he leaned even closer. “For being you.”

Derek closed his eyes and went to meet Stiles halfway.

The upstairs door opened loudly and the two jolted away from each other as if they’d been burned. 

Stiles shot to his feet and leveled a brief glare at Laura, who had just appeared at the top of the stairs. 

Derek was on his feet and over by the loft’s 20 foot wall of windows, staring out at the parking lot below while he tried to regain his composure.

Laura looked between the two with mischief in her eyes. 

“What’d I miss?”


	12. You killed me

While Stiles and Laura bickered in the kitchen over what to make for lunch, Talia and Derek sat quietly in the living room doing their best to catch up on everything Talia had missed while she was dead. Between squabbles, Stiles noticed that the wonder never left Derek’s face whenever Talia spoke. Knowing it was the same look he wore when his mother had spoken to him as well, Stiles elected not to comment on it. 

Without warning, the wolves’ ears perked up with alarming synchronicity. Clearly another werewolf was approaching the loft. Stiles wiped his hands on the dish rag hanging on the stove handle and walked towards Derek and Talia, who had both stood up at the first sign of an impending visitor. 

Laura hung back in the kitchen, unsure how to proceed. It was clear that the three Hales knew who was coming, but none said a word.

Stiles tapped into his spark and brought it to his fingertips. It was unlikely that he would have to use it with two Alphas and a strong beta at his side, but he was worried about the reaction this incoming visitor was provoking. 

The loft door slid open slowly, revealing a man Stiles had never seen before and a very nervous looking Peter Hale. The man, who Stiles assumed had to be Dominic, looked to be about Peter’s age, but his face betrayed a litany of emotions. From laugh lines to ill-defined crow’s feet, Stiles could tell this man spent a great deal of his life smiling or laughing. It was hard for Stiles to reconcile this man with the image he had in his head of someone who would be Peter’s mate.

“Uncle Peter?” Laura’s voice was loud in the previously silent loft. She spoke softly from her perch by the refrigerator. She appeared to be unable to move past where she was standing. 

“Laura,” Peter replied reverently. His eyes only left his niece’s when Talia spoke.

“Peter. I am not entirely sure you are welcome here.” Her eyes were red and tinged with sadness. Stiles could only imagine what she was feeling. The joy of being reunited with her brother being marred by the sadness of knowing said brother had killed her eldest daughter must be almost unbearable.

“Talia,” Peter breathed. His eyes were red for a far different reason than Talia’s. It was clear that he had been crying for quite some time before entering the loft. “I am not naïve enough to believe that a simple apology would suffice to atone for the crimes I have committed against our family.” He turned towards Laura with a look Stiles had never seen on his face. “Especially what I consider to be my greatest crime, my dear.”

“You killed me,” she whispered. Stiles could see the grief clearly on her face, warring with the relief at seeing another member of her family she thought was lost to her. “You killed me and I need to know why… Why would you do that to me? To Derek?”

“Is there any reason I could give you that you would forgive?” 

“No.” Laura raised her chin and stood at full height. “There’s not. But I was once your family and if you want a chance at being family again, you will explain yourself to me. You owe me that much.” She extended her hands at her sides, and Stiles could see that her claws had come out. 

“Fair enough,” offered Peter, inclining his head towards Derek, “As you know, dear nephew, I was not quite myself when I awoke from my coma. But what you might not know is what I endured while asleep.” He spat the last word as if it were obscene. “I was minimally conscious. I could hear and see and smell everything that was going on around me. I could feel every cell in my body trying to regenerate, and it was excruciating. For that first year, the only coherent thought I had was that my pack had left me. That you had left me.” His eyes met Laura’s and Derek’s significantly before flitting to Dom. After a deep breath, he continued. “I was left alone to think about what would happen if someone found me in my weakened state. If an Argent had wanted to finish the job. It would have been only too easy for a hunter to come into the facility and slit my throat, or worse.”

Stiles stepped behind Laura and put a calming hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch, sheathing her claws momentarily. A single tear escaped her eye and she rushed to wipe it away before returning her gaze to Peter.

“For six years, those were the thoughts I was left alone with. My mate was dead, my pack had been murdered, and what pack I had left had abandoned me. At some point I stopped being afraid that a hunter would track me down and started being afraid that one wouldn’t, and I’d be stuck like I was forever.” 

Talia grabbed Derek’s clawed hand as her eyes lost their Alpha red. Taking a cue from his mother, Derek retracted his claws but continued to shine his eyes at his uncle. 

Peter continued, “One full moon, I found myself able to shift into my beta form. After that, my thoughts turned to vengeance. I began to plan out my revenge, starting with everyone I could find who was connected to the fire. I would take as long as I needed to track them down and make them pay. Then I would end the Argent line.” Peter dropped his head and finished, “At that point, I had spent six years equating the pack that abandoned me with the hunters who slaughtered my family. There was no difference to me. I was blind with rage and hatred, and I so wanted you to suffer for what you had done to me. I had gone mad. So when I had healed enough to run on the full moon and smelled your scent, I didn’t hesitate. My mind was screaming that you were an enemy.”

After a prompting nod from Dominic, Peter continued. “When I finally came back to myself and realized what I had done, I was consumed with grief. I realized I truly had nothing to live for, and my vendetta turned into a suicide mission. I was determined to take down the Argents and anyone else who had a hand in the fire. And I didn’t care who I hurt in the process, because I did not expect to live past the completion of my task.” 

He closed his eyes and shook his head miserably. “I know none of this is any excuse for what I did to you, Laura. Or you, Derek. Tal, I’m so sorry.” His wet eyes met his sister’s sadly. 

When no one spoke, Peter nodded slightly. “I’ll go. I just needed to see for myself that you were both back. And to try to explain myself. I truly am sorry.” He turned to Dominic and whispered, “You stay here for a bit, I’ll go wait in the car.” 

Dominic agreed and Peter turned to go.

“Uncle Peter?” Laura’s soft voice stopped Peter who turned around at the loft door and looked at her questioningly. “I – I don’t forgive you for what you’ve done.” She paused and took a quick look at everyone in the room. “But I am so sorry for leaving you here alone. I was young and I had just become an Alpha and I had Derek to look after. I just knew we couldn’t stay here. We weren’t safe. For what it’s worth, I’ll never forgive myself either, for leaving you.”

Peter nodded in acknowledgement and left without another word.

Dominic let out a big breath and grinned. “Ok, well now he owes me ten bucks because he bet me that there would be at least a little blood.”

Just like that, the tense atmosphere disappeared and Laura rushed towards Dominic with her arms outstretched. 

They embraced fiercely and when they separated, Dom kept his hand around Laura’s waist. “Tal, you look wonderful, as always.” He winked and pressed a quick kiss to Laura’s temple before striding towards the two Alphas in the room. 

“Dom, it’s so great to see you,” Talia offered happily while they exchanged a quick hug. 

“Derek, you’ve grown up!” Smiling, he reached out to the surly Alpha, enveloping him in a bear hug which Derek begrudgingly returned. 

“Those are a good color on you,” Dom noted, pointing at the red in Derek’s eyes. 

“Oh, sorry,” Derek replied, letting his eyes return to their usual green. “It’s great to see you, Uncle Dom.”

“And who is this striking young man?” Dom turned to Stiles as Derek growled softly. He shook his head and looked down, embarrassed. Dom stuck his hand out for Stiles to shake.

Stiles forced himself to look away from the mesmerizing blush rising up on Derek’s cheeks, and looked Dom in the eye to return the handshake. “I’m Stiles, sir. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, yes. Miss Lydia Martin and Peter have both told me quite a bit about you, Stiles. Please, call me Dom.” He smiled widely with his whole face and Stiles was powerless to do anything but grin in return. 

“Alright, well I should be going. We have quite a few more stops to make on the Peter Hale Apology Tour, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

After a chorus of goodbyes, Dom left.

The three Hales collapsed onto the couch with Talia in the middle as soon as the loft door slid closed. They looked exhausted from the encounter. Stiles walked off to the kitchen to put on some tea and saw that he had a text from Allison asking if their meeting tomorrow could take place at his house. After responding in the affirmative, he sent a group text to Scott, Isaac, and Lydia to see what time they would be back at the loft for the Alpha meeting. By the time the tea was ready, each of the three had confirmed that they would be there in two hours. 

Stiles brought the steaming mugs of tea out to the grateful Hales and sat on the armchair, content to continue reading the tome he found earlier while they all sipped in silence. 

After about half an hour, Stiles decided to order in some lunch since no one seemed to be in the mood to cook. Derek had fallen asleep with his head on his mother’s shoulder and Laura sported the same blank expression she wore when she first sat down. Every so often, Talia and Stiles’ eyes would meet and a grim smile would be shared between the two.

More than once, Talia had caught Stiles staring longingly at Derek, but neither mentioned it.

When the food arrived almost an hour after their interaction with Peter, the Hales attempted to shake off their misery. 

Talia got up and went into the kitchen to help Stiles plate the inordinate amount of food he had ordered for the four of them. Laura whined at the loss of her mother on the couch and crawled across the empty space to attach herself to Derek like a touch starved octopus. Derek wrapped his arms around her tightly and for a few minutes they just breathed.

Once everything was set on the table, the four of them settled in to eat. At one point, Derek’s ankle brushed against Stiles’ under the table. When the wolf opened his mouth to mumble an apology, Stiles just met his eyes and shook his head silently. Stiles simply pushed his ankle back against Derek’s, where it stayed for the rest of the meal. 

“So, I spoke with a few people today,” Talia began after they had all made a dent in their food. “Cora will be joining us in a few days. She was quite colorful on the phone before she realized it was really me.” She paused to smile gently at her children across the table. “Also, Deaton has several magical contacts who are willing to come by and help us rebuild our home in the Preserve.” She waited for a reaction from Laura and Derek before continuing. 

The two looked at each other with identical expressions and shrugged in tandem. Stiles could see the resemblance. He rolled his eyes and gave Derek a nudge under the table. 

Derek sat up straight and offered, “I think that’s a great idea… mom.” He added that last word quietly, since he was still not used to saying it. Talia gave him a fond smile. 

“Excellent. In that case, I will tell them to go ahead with the construction. Deaton is going to call in a few favors and have it done the day after tomorrow.”

Stiles eyebrows shot up and he let out a low whistle. “That soon?”

Talia shot him a smirk. “Well I didn’t say he wasn’t going to cheat. Which brings me to my next topic. Stiles, would you be so kind as to ward the house when it is finished?”

“Me?”

With a patient smile, Talia confirmed, “Yes, you. I could certainly ask Deaton to do it, but the wards are more powerful if the person who places them has a strong connection to the pack.”

Stiles nods furiously. “Of – of course! I’ll need to do some research on which wards we’ll need. Entry wards, obviously. And fire resistance. There’s a cool one I read about that I’ve been wanting to try that freezes in place anyone who comes within 50 yards of the house with bad intentions…” Stiles became more excited as he spoke, earning a grin from Talia and Laura. He was still rattling off wards he could offer when he looked up and noticed Derek staring at him oddly. “What? Oh, was I rambling again? Sorry.” He looked around sheepishly.

Talia waved away his concern. “Not at all, dear. I appreciate all the thought you are putting into this. Now, we need to prepare for our meeting.” The four cleaned up lunch and set about tidying up in preparation for Scott, Isaac, and Lydia to arrive.


	13. It would be an honor

As the others filed in and took their spots in the living room, the tension in the air became palpable. Before it could get out of control, Talia greeted everyone with a warm smile. 

Derek sat between Stiles and Lydia on the couch, while Scott and Isaac pulled chairs from the kitchen and sat across the coffee table from the armchair Laura had situated herself in. Talia was the only one standing.

“Thank you all for coming. As you know, there are a few items we need to discuss. The first should be fairly simple. I am in the process of rebuilding the Hale house in the Preserve. I would like to propose that upon its completion, it be considered the official pack house. I took the liberty of asking Deaton to have his contacts add in an extra wing, so that anyone who would like a room will have one. It would be a safe place for anyone in the pack to stay, and would be our headquarters where we could attend to any pack business.”

After an affirmative nod from everyone in attendance, Derek interjected, “Will we be using the underground tunnel for training like we used to?”

Talia shook her head. “I am having the house rebuilt about a mile down the road from our old home. But I am happy you brought up training, as it leads me to the next point of order.”

“You mean how we’re going to peacefully coexist with three Alphas?" Stiles guessed.

“Exactly.” Talia alternated looking at Scott and Derek as she continued. “My suggestion is that we each play to our strengths and take charge of different aspects of pack life. Derek, I would recommend that you be in charge of training. Scott, you have proven in the past to be adept at strategy and pack management. That is to say, you seem to have a good grasp on each of the pack members as individuals, as well as the moral compass of a True Alpha. That could be invaluable when it comes to making sure the pack stays sane and healthy. As for me, I have been an Alpha for quite some time and as such, I would be happy to take care of inter-pack relations.”

“What about Stiles?” Scott, who had been nodding along with Talia’s suggestions, glanced at Stiles who had remained quiet.

“I would like for Stiles to consider becoming our pack’s emissary. As emissary, Stiles, you would provide guidance to your pack members and Alphas, and would help us maintain the balance. Your spark would also allow you to more readily assist with the defense of our pack, and may even deter certain enemies who would see our strength as something to covet.”

Stiles, who had been considering the offer since it was first put into his mind, nodded firmly. “It would be an honor.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Though I’m not sure how.”

Talia beamed. “Deaton can help you with that. It is customary for the outgoing emissary to train the incoming.” She smirked at Stiles’ poorly hidden sigh of relief.

“So how would decision-making work with three Alphas?” Scott seemed nervous to ask, but it needed to be discussed.

It was Derek who answered. “I would imagine that we would all have a say. But since there are an uneven number, a 2-1 vote would final. Right?” He directed the last bit to Talia.

“That’s right,” she confirmed. “Although I am hoping you and Scott can make decisions together, and only need my vote in instances where you cannot come to an agreement.”

The other two Alphas nodded once, looking at each other warily. Stiles snorted, earning him a glare from Lydia and a chuckle from Laura.

The seven of them continued to discuss logistics for almost three hours. They then split off, with each Alpha conversing with their second excitedly. Derek was talking to Lydia about their immediate plans for training. Lydia was going to meet with Deaton in the morning to go over plans with his contractors for a training arena in the backyard of the new Hale house. Scott and Isaac were talking about how to improve pack bonding and day-to-day activities. Talia turned to Stiles before speaking to Laura and told him to head home. “Your parents have invited us for dinner, so we will be seeing you soon. We won’t be too much longer here.”

Stiles nodded and started walking out of the loft. When he reached the door, he paused for a moment and looked at the pack leadership talking animatedly with each other. He bit back a smile and with quite a lot of weight off his shoulders, headed home. 

Stiles entered his house to a sound he was thrilled to have to get used to again – his mother’s laughter. He walked into the kitchen to find his mom and dad in the middle of a food fight, which he wasted no time in joining.

“Claudia, this is not how we make dinner!” Stiles’ dad shouted through laughter as he launched sliced green and red peppers at her.

“Why on earth not? Can’t you feed the belly and the soul at the same time?” Claudia’s response came with the added bonus of a mushroom to the Sheriff’s face. 

When John finally surrendered to Claudia and Stiles, who had teamed up immediately, Stiles noticed wryly that his dad had been very careful to only ruin the vegetables during his attack. He quickly shooed his parents out of the kitchen and got to work making dinner for six.

He had clearly lost himself in the cooking because he was startled by the sudden appearance of Derek in the doorway.

“I really do have to change your name in my phone to Stealthywolf,” Stiles mumbled while he set the timer on the oven.

Derek quirked an eyebrow. “What is it now?”

“Sourwolf,” Stiles replied happily, laughing at Derek’s disgruntled face. 

“Where are Talia and Laura?” Stiles craned his neck to try and look past Derek into the hallway.

Derek cocked his head to the side to listen briefly. “Talia is catching up with your mom and your dad is trying to convince Laura to become a deputy now that she’s back.”

Stiles chuckled, “That’s actually not a bad idea. So what are you doing in here?”

Derek rolled up his sleeves, revealing his toned forearms. “Just came to see if I could help.”

Stiles gulped and turned around to face the refrigerator. “Um, yeah, you could help set the table if you wanted.”

“Stiles?” Derek’s voice was soft and low as he reached out to turn Stiles around.

“Yeah?” Stiles was steadfastly looking anywhere but at Derek’s mouth.

Derek didn’t drop his hand from Stiles’ shoulder as his other hand reached up and around to the back of Stiles’ head.

Stiles’ heartbeat was going crazy, but he stayed silent. Derek’s hand retreated back towards his body with a green pepper clutched in it.

“Why did you have a pepper stuck to the back of your head?”

Stiles laughed and the tension left the room. His heartbeat returned to normal as Derek strode across the kitchen to discard the pepper and then went about setting the table while listening to Stiles’ recounting of the food fight. 

Dinner was a loud and uproarious affair. With Claudia’s contagious laughter and Laura’s incredible story-telling ability, Stiles knew he was not alone in feeling like his face was numb at the end of the night from all of the smiling he had done. 

In Stiles’ completely biased opinion, the best part of dinner was how utterly relaxed Derek had looked. If Laura’s knowing eyebrows had been any indication, Stiles hadn’t been exactly subtle in his staring. But he couldn’t help it – the sight of Derek laughing in any way other than sardonically was a sight to behold, and was something Stiles would spend the rest of his life trying to make happen again if that’s what it took.

At the end of the night, Claudia and Talia pointedly ushered Laura and the Sheriff into the living room to talk about Laura’s job prospects, leaving Stiles and Derek alone to clear the table and do the dishes.

They did so in companionable silence, only slightly slowed down by the occasional flirty hip check when they passed each other while bringing the dishes from the table to the sink. The euphoric after effects from such a successful and friendly dinner had them both feeling looser than they otherwise would have.

They chatted idly as Stiles washed and Derek dried until all the dishes had been done. Stiles, emboldened by the happiness threatening to burst out of his chest, grabbed Derek’s hand and intertwined their fingers. 

Derek looked momentarily surprised, but squeezed Stiles’ hand slightly. They stood like that for a while, shoulder to shoulder, leaning back against the counter listening to the soft murmur of their loved ones chatting in the next room.

“Our mom’s are back,” Stiles whispered happily, not taking his eyes off of the wall that separated them from the living room.

Derek looked down and closed his eyes in a surprising show of vulnerability. “Yeah, they are.”

He opened his eyes and turned his head towards Stiles, who was already looking at him fondly.

Their eyes met and almost instinctively, the two leaned towards one another. Stiles, in his unfailing enthusiasm, got there first and captured Derek’s lips in a kiss more tender than anything Stiles had ever felt in his life. 

Stiles brought the hand not gripping Derek’s to the back of Derek’s head and ran his fingers hungrily through the man’s hair.

Derek gripped the boy’s waist and pulled back, chuckling softly at the whine Stiles let out as they broke the kiss. 

Derek leaned forward and whispered in Stiles’ ear, eliciting a shiver from the boy. “Not now. Aside from not wanting to give Laura the satisfaction of walking in on us, we need to get going. We have to prepare for the meeting with the Argents tomorrow.”

Stiles pouted but relented. “Fine. But will you come over in the morning, before the meeting? My dad’s working tomorrow and mom wanted to go to the bookstore first thing in the morning to see if she can get her old job back.” 

Derek couldn’t resist leaning forwards for a quick peck which Stiles chased eagerly. “I’ll be here,” he promised with a private smile.

The Hales left and Stiles settled in to watch a movie with his mom while his dad headed off to bed. He waited for the self doubt and crippling fear to kick in like it usually did when he relaxed, but it never came. He readjusted himself under his mother’s arm and fell asleep slowly and happily.


	14. Playful wolf

When Derek arrived at the Stilinski house the next morning, the Sheriff and Claudia had both already left for the day. Stiles had informed Claudia the day before that she may want to make herself scarce for the Argent meeting, so she made plans to go see Melissa McCall for lunch after her morning at the bookstore. 

Stiles vaguely heard the front door open and close from his position on his bed, wrapped in virtually every blanket he owned. He curled himself into a ball when he heard the visitor walk up the stairs, assuming whoever it was, was there to wake him up. He grumbled incoherently in annoyance when he heard his bedroom door open, and extracted his hand from the blanket burrito long enough to wave away the intruder before pulling his arm back into the warmth. 

He heard a snicker as his visitor quietly walked back down the stairs. Stiles must have fallen back asleep because the next thing he knew, a mug of hot coffee was sitting at his bedside table next to his head. 

“Whaddya want,” he asked his room almost incoherently. 

“You,” a voice sounding suspiciously like Derek responded shyly.

Derek! That’s right. Derek was going to come over in the morning and they were going to talk.

Stiles shot up into a sitting position, tried to untangle himself from his burrito, and promptly fell out of his bed onto the floor. 

If he wasn’t so preoccupied with getting up, he might have heard Derek laugh. As it was, Stiles was too focused on still trying to wake up to pay attention to anything but his own two feet. When he was in a much more habitable state, he sat on the edge of his bed and took a grateful sip from the warm mug, finding the coffee to have been made exactly as he liked it.

He tucked his legs underneath himself and finally looked up at Derek, who was wearing an exasperatedly fond smile. Stiles felt his heart stop at the sight and made a commitment to himself that he would do whatever it took to put that soft look on Derek’s face every day for the foreseeable future.

“So,” Derek began. He was seated in Stiles’ computer chair, looking completely relaxed with his ankle resting on his opposite knee. Stiles wondered briefly if he was getting a little glimpse of the Derek from before the fire.

“So,” Stiles replied with a shit eating grin. He stayed quiet after that and looked at Derek expectantly. 

“Really, Stiles? If you’re waiting for me to start, we could be here all day.” He intertwined his fingers behind his head and leaned back in the chair. Stiles’ jaw dropped momentarily as he took Derek in. This easygoing stance was so different from Derek’s normal pent up, ready to defend himself from an attack at a moment’s notice posture.

Stiles shook his head and brought himself back to the matter at hand. “Fair enough. Derek, I would very much like to date you.” Not one to shy away from bluntness, Stiles figured the rest of the morning would go much more smoothly if they got rid of the awkwardness early on. Plus there was a part of him that still believed he was dreaming, and there’s no reason to mince words in a dream.

Derek’s eyebrows shot to his hairline in surprise at Stiles’ direct approach. The surprise turned into shy hope before his face turned into a blank mask.

“Why?” If Stiles hadn’t been staring at Derek’s mouth, he might not have heard him. 

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to date me?” Derek’s eyes betrayed a vulnerability he was trying desperately to keep hidden.

“Seriously? I think the shorter answer would be why wouldn’t I want to date you.” 

“Stiles,” Derek said through gritted teeth. 

Stiles cocked his head to the side and tried to shake the remnants of sleep out of his mind as he thought about what could have caused Derek to have this kind of reaction.

Suddenly, it clicked. “Derek, you can’t think your looks are the only reason I like you.”

When Derek remained silent, Stiles continued. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re easily the hottest person I’ve ever seen. Like light years out of my league hot. But you are so much more than that. You’re brilliant, Der. I don’t think people realize how smart you really are. And beneath that whole tough Alpha exterior, you care more than anyone I know. I saw how broken you were after Erica and Boyd died, and how hard it was on you when you had to kick Isaac out of your place when the Alpha Pack was here. I pay attention, Derek. It may have taken me a while to figure out how to look past those nearly impenetrable walls you’d put up around yourself but once I did, I couldn’t believe all the things I saw that I hadn’t before. You’re incredible. And you deserve every happiness life can give a person.”

At some point during Stiles’ speech, Derek had stood up and started pacing the room. 

Stiles finished his coffee in one gulp and strode over to Derek. He placed a hand on either shoulder and stopped Derek in his tracks, forcing him to make eye contact with Stiles.

When their eyes met, Derek’s face softened and he sighed. “I can hear your heart beating, so I know you believe what you’re saying. I just – ”

Stiles moved his hands from Derek’s shoulders to his face. His thumbs caressed Derek’s cheekbones lightly back and forth. “I know, big guy. I get it.” He grabbed his hand and led him over to the bed, where they sat down facing each other. Stiles kept one hand on Derek’s knee, not wanting to break the calming contact throughout their conversation.

“Is that all that’s holding you back, Der?” Stiles looked up at him through his eyelashes.

“It’s part of it,” Derek admitted. He sighed wearily. “Stiles, you’re still in high school. I don’t…” He trailed off.

Stiles furrowed his eyebrows. “Listen to me. I don’t want to hear about how I’m young and I have my whole life ahead of me and I can’t possibly know what I want, okay? That’s all bullshit. I know I’m young. I know I have my whole life ahead of me. But I do know what I want, and I want to live my life with you in it, Derek. In any capacity. If you want to wait to have a relationship with me because you want to wait, then that’s what we’ll do. But if you want to wait because you think that’s what’s best for me, then we have a problem.” He cocked his head to the side and finished with a smirk, “Do we have a problem?”

“You’re infuriating, you know that?” Derek leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Stiles’ lips. He pulled back before the boy even knew what was happening.

Stiles pouted. “Ok, you have to stop doing that. I need warning before you’re going to kiss me that quickly. By the time I know what’s happening, it’s already over! So make a noise or something so I can enjoy it with you.” Stiles swatted Derek’s shoulder in mock disapproval.

“What, do you want me to beep at you first?” Derek raised one eyebrow in amusement.

“Yes,” Stiles smiled triumphantly. 

“Beep,” Derek said quickly, ducking in for another short kiss. 

Stiles laughed delightedly. “Hmm, Playfulwolf. Or, you know, you could kiss me for more than a millisecond.” He fluttered his eyelashes at Derek and leaned in to initiate a kiss.

Derek used his index finger to push Stiles back by his forehead and got to his feet quickly. “Yeah, no. You have morning breath.” 

Stiles’ eyes widened in surprise and then squinted mischievously. “Oh really?” He crouched low, ready to spring.

Derek held his hands out in surrender. “Stiles, no! No, Stiles!” He turned to try and run away, but Stiles hopped on his back before he could get to the door. 

The two wrestled out the door into the hallway, all the while with Stiles trying his best to breathe on Derek as much as possible, and Derek trying his best to duck away from the attack. Derek made it to the bathroom and promptly deposited Stiles onto the counter and made his way to sit on the edge of the bathtub to wait while Stiles brushed his teeth.

After Stiles’ teeth had been brushed and their twin smiles had faded slightly, Derek crossed the bathroom to where Stiles was still sitting on the counter and went to stand between the boy’s knees. Stiles opened his legs slightly to make room for Derek, and rested his hands on the man’s waist when he was all settled. 

Derek ran one hand over the top of Stiles’ head, caressing over his hair and the back of his neck before resting on his shoulder blade. 

He leaned in and when he saw Stiles close his eyes in anticipation, simply smiled and rubbed their noses together gently before pulling away. 

A surprised giggle escaped Stiles’ mouth before he could stop it. “Derek Francis Hale. Did you just give me an Eskimo kiss?” There was unabashed delight on his face at the sight of the blush rising on Derek’s cheeks.

“Stiles, that’s not my middle name.” He sighed and rolled his eyes at his mate’s antics.

“Eh, I took a shot,” Stiles replied, unperturbed. 

“And you’re comfortable with that shot being Francis?”

Stiles shrugged. “You win some, you lose some.” He leaned in and brought a hand to the back of Derek’s head as he gave the man a proper, minty fresh, kiss.

They stayed like that for a while, exchanging kisses and laughs and the occasional word until Stiles’ butt went numb from sitting on the counter for so long.

“You know what we need,” he asked Derek seriously.

“What’s that?” Derek looked at him like he would give Stiles the world if that’s what he asked for.

“A nap,” Stiles said with finality as he jumped off the counter.

Derek looked to the ceiling for strength. “Stiles. You just woke up. Like half an hour ago.”

“Exactly! A whole half hour ago. And the others won’t be here until after lunch for the meeting.” He raised his eyebrows challengingly. “Hey, where are you going?” Derek had turned around and walked out of the bathroom suddenly.

“We can’t take a nap in the bathroom, Stiles,” he called from the hallway.

Stiles sprinted out of the bathroom, through the hallway, and into his room before Derek had even taken off his leather jacket. He leapt onto his bed and pulled the covers over himself before opening part of them invitingly for Derek. 

Derek shook his head fondly and took off his shoes and jeans, leaving him in a loose fitting shirt and his boxer briefs. 

Stiles gulped at the sight and winked. “Big spoon or little spoon?”

Derek smiled as he made his way into the bed and under the covers. “C’mere.” He manhandled Stiles into a comfortable position with his head resting on Derek’s chest and his arm draped around his middle. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of Stiles’ head and whispered tenderly, “Just sleep.”


	15. Cuddles and logic

Derek hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but when he opened his eyes he saw that the clock on Stiles’ bedside table said it was nearly noon. The boy in question was starfished on his belly almost completely on top of Derek and was snoring softly. Derek took a few seconds to look at Stiles, and was pleased to find that the dark circles that had become a seemingly permanent fixture on the boy’s face since the Nogitsune were almost completely gone. Happy, he leaned his head down to press and kiss to Stiles’ forehead and extracted himself from underneath the pile of limbs. 

When Stiles awoke he found that he was alone in his bed. Frowning, he looked around the room until he realized there was a post it note stuck to his cheek. 

'I’m in the kitchen, sleepyhead.'

Smiling, Stiles took a moment to change into some jeans and a graphic tee before bounding down the stairs towards his… boyfriend? Lover? Oh, ew no not lover. Beau? He shrugged to himself and filed it away – there was plenty of time talk about that sort of stuff. For now, there was a Sourwolf in his kitchen that needed a proper greeting.

He paused for a moment in the doorway. Derek had his back to Stiles and was fumbling around with some ingredients on the counter. His back was rigid and his shoulders made a tight line. Stiles frowned at the thought of what could be causing Derek to have resumed his tense posture and shuffled over to the man cautiously. He hesitated when Derek didn’t turn around, but threw all caution to the wind and wrapped his arms around Derek’s waist from behind, pressing a brief kiss to his shoulder before hooking his head onto it so they were almost cheek to cheek. 

Stiles felt Derek relax and smiled. “Whachya thinkin’ about?”

When Derek just grunted in response, Stiles nuzzled his nose into the side of Derek’s neck. Derek jerked slightly and tried to school his face into a neutral expression but it was too late. Stiles’ eyes widened in delight as he squealed, “You’re ticklish? Ok, we are so going to revisit that, but first you need to use your words. What’s got you all tense?” 

He stepped around Derek and turned to face him so he was in between the wolf and the counter. Derek dropped the butter knife and the mayo he had been holding and folded his arms across his chest.

“Oh no you don’t,” Stiles warned him before tugging on one of Derek’s forearms. Derek relented and dropped his arms to his sides and leaned into Stiles’ touch as the boy slid his hands up and down Derek’s arms soothingly. “Is it the meeting today?”

Derek nodded.

“Everyone wants the same thing here, Derek. Everything’s going to be fine. And you know Chris. He’s been a great ally to us, and Allison is pack. This meeting is just a formality, you know that. The local Alphas officially meeting the local hunters.”

Derek let out a big breath through his mouth. “You’re right. I know you’re right. Chris is a good guy and Allison wants what’s best for the pack. I just keep thinking about the last time my mother encountered an Argent.” He closed his eyes and brought his hands to Stiles’ waist.

Stiles hooked his hands behind Derek’s neck and nodded. “That’s completely understandable.” He raised his head slightly to meet Derek’s eyes. “But that’s not all you’re worried about, is it?”

“No. No, it’s not.” He started to pull away from Stiles and suddenly he understood.

“Oh. You’re worried about how it will look to the hunters when they find out that the friendly neighborhood Alpha is dating the teenage son of the local Sheriff.” 

Derek frowned, but then quirked an eyebrow at Stiles. “Dating?”

Stiles blushed and replied with mock confidence, “Well yes, dating. Once you take me on a real date, that is.”

“I was making you lunch when you interrupted me with cuddles and logic.” Derek was smiling now, which Stiles counted as a win.

“Well then by all means, continue preparing our date.” He stepped aside with a sweeping gesture at the food covered counter and took a seat at the kitchen table to let Derek work.

Stiles checked his phone while Derek made them sandwiches and cut up some fresh fruit. He had several texts from the pack, including one from Erica asking him for more information on Pahn, whom she had apparently caught Isaac texting. 

There was another from his mother telling him she hoped he had fun this morning with a winky face. He shook his head at his phone and wondered how she did that. His smile widened as he reread the text. “Der?”

Derek turned to Stiles with his head cocked to the side and his eyebrows raised in question.

“My mom texted me,” he whispered, not taking his eyes from his phone.

“Ok…” Derek’s face changed from curious to confused.

“No, my MOM texted me. Like from her phone to mine. I’m communicating with my mother.”

Comprehension flooded over Derek and he hummed happily. He walked over to the table and pressed a kiss to the top of Stiles’ head. “Yeah, you are. And you will be for a long, long time.” 

They locked eyes and beamed at one another, basking in their moment of happiness.

Stiles turned back to his phone and saw a message from Scott and one from Laura from before he had woken up the first time. He and Scott texted back and forth for a few minutes, not saying much at all other than checking in with one another. 

When he read Laura’s text, Stiles squeaked and blushed furiously. 

Derek, alerted to the change in Stiles’ mood when the scent of embarrassment flooded the room, strode over and looked at the boy inquiringly.

Stiles held out his phone helplessly and kept an eye on Derek’s face to gauge his reaction.

Derek read aloud, “Shadowing your dad today at the Sheriff’s Station. Don’t worry, I’ll keep him away from any noise complaints the neighbors may file when Derek comes over in the morning.”

Derek cleared his throat and handed the phone back to Stiles silently. 

“We should probably talk about that,” Stiles muttered.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” replied Derek with finality.

Stiles drooped in his seat. “Oh, right. Of course.”

Derek plated the food and sat next to Stiles. “That’s not what I mean, Stiles. I just mean nothing like that is going to happen until you’re eighteen.” His face left no room for argument, so Stiles settled for a brief kiss and dug into his sandwich, which of course was made exactly as he liked it.

When he realized what he had done, Stiles froze with a bit of lettuce hanging out of his mouth. He wiped it away quickly and said, “Oh shit, are we not doing that anymore either? Should I not have done that?” 

Derek chuckled and shut Stiles up by gripping his jaw tenderly and bringing him in for a longer, more languid kiss. When they broke apart, he smiled and replied, “Of course we can still do that. I just think we should wait for everything else until you’re eighteen. It’s only a few months away, I think we’ll be alright.”

“Fine,” Stiles pouted but didn’t push the subject. Derek’d had enough people in his life use sex against him, Stiles wasn’t about to join the club. “You’re worth the wait.” He smiled sweetly at Derek’s blush and they finished their date with hooked ankles and stolen glances.

One o’clock rolled around faster than they had anticipated and by the time everyone had arrived for the meeting, Derek and Stiles had agreed to keep their relationship private for the time being. 

Scott showed up just before the others. Stiles greeted him at the door, excitedly waving the cell phone in his hand. “Scotty, my mom texted me!”

Scott closed the front door behind him and fixed to give Stiles a confused look before seeing the excitement and pride on Stiles’ face. Instead, Scott clapped Stiles on the shoulder and gave him an enthusiastic, “That’s great, man.” Stiles beamed at his best friend and felt some weight drop off his shoulders as he realized Scott had touched him without flinching. 

Talia, Derek, Scott, Chris, Allison, and Stiles all piled into the Stilinski family room and greeted each other formally so they could get the serious business out of the way. Chris assured Talia that the hunters in surrounding areas wouldn’t be a problem, and that the Risen werewolves were just as protected as the others as long as they did not give any hunter a reason to believe otherwise. 

It was customary at these meetings to exchange gifts as a sign of good will and trust between hunters and the supernatural. After much discussion, Allison and Chris decided it would be appropriate to provide Talia, Derek, and Scott with a copy of their ledger, which included the names and contact information of the surrounding hunters. Talia reciprocated by providing Chris and Allison with the blueprints to the newly rebuilt Hale house.

Years of hunting allowed Chris to remain stoic as he accepted the rolled up blueprints from Talia, but Allison and Stiles both failed to hold in their surprise. 

“Are you sure?” Allison seemed shocked that the words had escaped her mouth before she could stop them, but Stiles was secretly pleased she had asked so he wouldn’t have to.

Talia smiled and nodded. “Yes, my dear. From what I have heard, your father has assisted Derek and his pack on several occasions. And you yourself died trying to save a member of the pack. I could no more hold you accountable for the actions of Kate and Gerard than you could hold me accountable for the actions of Peter.”

Allison nodded her head in agreement.

Chris and Talia looked over the blueprints as everyone else watched. Talia answered the occasional question until Chris pointed at one structure behind the main house. 

“What will that be?”

She turned to Derek and invited him to answer. “That section of the house is of Derek’s design. He and Lydia will be working with Deaton on it directly.”

Derek cleared his throat and elaborated, “That’s the training area. It will be behind the house and extend into the Preserve. There’s an open patch of land with no trees that will work well for our purposes. That building you’re pointing to will be our storage shed.”

Chris nodded and continued his examination of the blueprints. Allison looked over his shoulder quietly from her position next to him on the couch until she noticed something that confused her.

She looked at Derek timidly until her curiosity overcame her hesitance. “What’s that, there?” She pointed at an open area about 30 feet from the storage shed.

For some reason, Derek’s eyes shifted around uncertainly, as if he was nervous about how Allison would handle his response. 

Stiles and Scott had a silent conversation that left them both confused as to Derek’s reaction.

“It’s an archery range,” Derek admitted quietly. 

Chris offered his friend an encouraging smile before schooling his expression and looking over to his daughter. Stiles was apparently unsuccessful in his attempt not to gaze lovingly at Derek if Scott’s questioning stare and Talia’s knowing smile were anything to go by. Scott’s attention was soon pulled by Allison as everyone in the room waited to see her reaction.

Allison seemed overwhelmed by this information. Several emotions crossed her face before she settled on pleased. 

“Thank you, Derek.” She reached across the coffee table to grip his hand momentarily before retreating back to the couch.

Derek gave her a close mouthed smile in return before smirking. “Don’t thank me yet. Erica has already decided you’re going to give her lessons as part of your apology for shooting her and Boyd. You probably shouldn’t get too attached to any of the bows I got you until after she gets the hang of it.”

They all laughed and the tension in the room evaporated.

“Well before we wrap the meeting up, there is one thing we do need to discuss.” Chris’ eyes met those of the three Alphas in the room. At a nod from Talia, he continued. “We’ve gotten word from a hunting family in Nevada that their local coven recently reported one of their members missing. We believe it may be the witch who attacked us a few days ago.”

“The one I killed.” Derek’s eyes betrayed the remorse he was trying not to exude.

“The one you had to kill to save us,” Stiles corrected him gently. 

“In any event, the coven is concerned about her disappearance. My contact says they aren’t a particularly violent coven, which is why they are allowed to stay in that territory without issue, but covens are notorious for enacting vengeance when they are wronged. If this is indeed the coven of the witch we met in the Preserve, they may become a problem.”

Talia nodded. “Very well. Please let us know of any developments in that area. In the meantime, we will work on getting the house up and running and begin training. We certainly do not want a fight, but it seems we may have to prepare for one.”

Grimly, Chris, Scott, and Allison left the Stilinski house. Talia stayed behind and fixed Stiles and Derek with a knowing stare. 

“So. Do you boys have something to tell me?”


	16. Families joining

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” lied Stiles unconvincingly, avoiding eye contact with Talia.

Derek closed his eyes in resignation. “She can hear your heartbeat, Stiles. And even if she couldn’t, you’re a terrible liar.”

“Hey, I am a great liar!” Stiles huffed indignantly, crossing his arms and dropping onto the couch beside Derek.

The two of them looked up at Talia, who was standing in front of them patiently waiting for them to finish squabbling. 

“Derek, is there something you want to say?” Talia raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. 

“Mom, Stiles and I wanted to wait to tell everyone.”

Talia’s face changed so fast Stiles almost missed it. From stern Alpha to ecstatic mother, she clapped her hands together once and grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, this is wonderful news!” She moved to take her cell phone out of her pocket. “Claudia will be delighted.”

Derek held a hand out to stop her. “No, mom. Please? We wanted to keep it quiet for a bit.”

Stiles, however, was far more concerned with another aspect of Talia’s reaction. “Wait, what do you mean my mom will be delighted? Have you two been talking about us?” 

Talia looked around guiltily before opening her text messages and showing them the chain under the name ‘Claudia.’

Stiles’ eyes grew wide as he grabbed the phone from Talia’s hand and swiped up, and up, and up. His voice reached a pitch so high Derek leaned away when he exclaimed, “You’ve been back only a few days, how have you two been texting so much? And why is it all about me and Derek?”

After Stiles was finished and Derek no longer had to fight the urge to cover his ears, he flushed beet red and donned a horrified look. “Mom?”

Talia appeared unashamed as she waved away Stiles’ queries and took her phone back from the boy’s hand. “We’ve been friends for a long time, we were excited at the prospect of our families joining.”

Stiles looked to Derek, who nodded begrudgingly. “Ok, you can tell her. But we’d really prefer to tell the rest of the pack on our own time.”

“I understand. I will say, however, that it would be a good idea for you to tell Scott.”

Stiles opened his mouth to interrupt her, but stopped when she held up her hand.

“You are not just his best friend anymore, Stiles. You are the pack emissary. That means you cannot have secrets from your Alpha. Or in this case, Alphas. I’m not saying you have to tell him right away, but it would be a good idea to tell him soon.”

Stiles nodded. 

Talia continued, “He’s going to find out soon anyway. The two of you smell like each other. If I didn’t know Derek stayed at the loft last night, I would have thought the two of you spent the night in the same bed.”

Stiles and Derek looked around shiftily until Derek broke the silence hesitantly. “So, you approve then?”

Talia smiled warmly at the pair. “Of course, my dears. I am utterly delighted.”

The two smiled and joined hands. Talia motioned for them to stand and swept them into a fierce hug. 

She let them go and pulled back, wiping her eyes slightly. “Well, I’m off. Claudia and Melissa have invited me to the McCall residence for the evening.” 

Stiles bit his lip nervously. “Uh, you might want to tell Melissa, too, then. She’ll need to be on standby in case my dad shoots Derek.”

Talia just laughed while Derek turned white. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad. Your father just wants you to be happy, Stiles. You are happy, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Stiles replied immediately. He and Derek shared a private smile as Talia walked to the front door. 

“Well then I will leave you to it.” With that, she was gone.

The two chatted for a little while about what wards Stiles was going to put up when the Hale house was finished, the training regimens Derek had planned for the betas, and other miscellaneous items until it started growing dark.

With a groan, Derek stood and walked into the kitchen to prepare a to-go mug of coffee. When Stiles quirked his eyebrow in question at Derek adding less than his usual amount of cream and sugar, Derek offered, “It’s for Lydia. We’re supposed to be meeting at the construction site soon and she’s always tired after her sessions with Deaton.”

Stiles nodded. “Scream therapy. That’s gotta be exhausting.”

“Yeah.” Derek grabbed his jacket and headed to the front door with Stiles following like an enamored duckling. He turned before reaching for the handle and planted a kiss on the boy’s smiling mouth.

It was short, the kind of kiss you give someone that you know you’ll be kissing every day for the rest of your life as you leave for work in the morning. Like a habit. The thought made Stiles smile harder as Derek departed the Stilinski house with promises to text him later. 

Stiles traded texts with various members of the pack with the TV on idly in the background for the next hour. Boyd and Erica were on a date, Isaac and Scott were meeting to discuss pack activities to recommend at the next pack meeting, and Cora was about to board her plane and would be arriving in the morning from South America. Kira had excitedly sent him a photo of a coyote, which meant she and Malia were obviously getting somewhere with their training in Seattle. They were due back on Thursday, but Stiles suspected they’d be staying longer.

He put his phone down on the counter and went about pulling together ingredients for lasagna. He pressed play on his cooking playlist and let his mind clear as he prepared dinner.

The first cognizant thought he had after that was about putting bells on all of the Hales, when the sight of Laura standing in the doorway almost made him drop his lasagna as he turned to put it in the oven. 

Laura laughed and hoisted herself up onto the kitchen counter, swinging her legs so her feet hit the cupboard beneath her. 

“I’m not talking to you,” Stiles informed her haughtily, turning away from her to start preparing a salad.

Laura just grinned, unperturbed. “I noticed there were no noise complaints this morning. Should I take that to mean you and my brother haven’t had ‘the talk’ yet?” 

Stiles blushed furiously but didn’t turn around. “Keep your voice down! We did have ‘the talk’ but we decided there would be no –” he glanced around the room and lowered his voice as he turned to face Laura, “ – noise complaints until I turn 18.” 

Laura smiled fondly at him, but her smile turned sad after a few seconds. “You have to be patient with him, Stiles."

Stiles nodded seriously. “I know. Like I told him, he’s worth the wait.”

She squinted at him suspiciously. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

“I do. Absolutely.”

“Good,” she replied simply, getting down off the counter. “Now, how can I help?”

They finished making dinner just as Stiles’ dad walked in the door. He entered the kitchen and grinned at the sight that greeted him. 

Stiles and Laura were sitting on opposite counters, taking turns throwing grapes into the others’ mouth. From their bickering in between throws, he figured out that Laura was winning and Stiles was accusing her of using her ‘werewolf superpowers’ to cheat.

“Hey, Sheriff,” Laura said at the same time as Stiles managed a, “Hey, dad,” around the grape Laura had just tossed with precision into his open mouth.

“Kids,” he greeted them fondly. “Laura, you staying for dinner?”

She shrugged. “Sure, thanks.” She hopped down off the counter and started setting the table. 

The three settled in comfortably for dinner. Laura seemed to understand that Stiles didn’t want to talk about Derek, so she didn’t bring it up. His dad was raving about how everyone at the Sheriff’s station loved Laura and couldn’t wait for her to start. From the embarrassed but pleased look on her face, Laura clearly wasn’t used to people bragging about her. 

“Laura actually completed deputy training in New York, so we’re really just waiting for all the paperwork to go through,” John supplied enthusiastically. 

“That’s great, but I didn’t know there was an opening in the canine unit.” Stiles flashed Laura a shit eating grin before she kicked him under the table.

“Try again,” John instructed wearily.

“That’s great, you’re going to be an excellent deputy.” He amended dutifully.

Stiles gripped her forearm from across the table and added earnestly, “Really, Laura. You’re going to be awesome.”

She smiled and replied confidently, “You bet your ass, I am.” She turned to John. “Hey, Sheriff, any chance I could be partnered with that one deputy? What was his name… Parrish?” She aimed for nonchalant and missed by a mile.

Stiles snickered while his dad groaned. 

They cleaned up and Laura headed back to the loft. John left to pick up Claudia from her girls night with Talia and Melissa and the two went straight to bed when they got back, leaving Stiles to finish his homework and text with Derek for a bit before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	17. No takebacks

Stiles woke up to a shrill ringing sound in his ear. The sun was barely up and he groaned as he turned over towards his bedside table to pick up the phone.

“What.” 

“Now, is that any way to greet your boyfriend first thing in the morning?” Even in his hazy state, Stiles could hear the smile in Derek’s voice.

“Boyfriend?” He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his left hand. 

Derek paused. “Well, I just thought – if you don’t want…”

“Nope. No takebacks,” Stiles interrupted smoothly. “I already added a heart next to your name in my phone, so you’re stuck with me.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

Stiles laughed. “Ok, so maybe I didn’t, but I might!”

They chatted for a few minutes until Stiles had to hang up to shower and get ready for school. Derek promised to record Cora’s reunion with Talia and Laura, at Stiles insistence. She was due to arrive sometime during Stiles’ 3rd period, so he couldn’t be there himself.

He finished getting ready and wandered downstairs into the kitchen, where he found his mother making breakfast. When she heard Stiles approach, she turned around and beamed mischievously. 

“Good morning, sunshine! Your father left for work about an hour ago, so it’s just you and me for breakfast.” 

Stiles leaned back and looked at her out of the corner of his eye suspiciously. “Not that I’m complaining, but why do you look so happy?”

Claudia bounced back to the stove and put together a plate of bacon and eggs for Stiles. “Talia had quite a lot to say at our girls night last night.”

She giggled while Stiles groaned, the events of yesterday finally catching up to him. 

“Mooooom,” he whined into his eggs. 

“Honey, this is your first boyfriend. It’s a mother’s duty to embarrass you with questions and love and support, so get used to it. What do you take in your coffee?”

Stiles grumbled a response but shot her a grateful smile when she brought him a mug full of delicious caffeine. 

“Fine, you can pry. But there’s not much to tell, this is all really new,” Stiles begrudgingly admitted.

Claudia smiled softly and sat across from him at the kitchen table. “I know, sweetheart. I just want to make sure you’re happy.”

“I am, mom. Really happy.” If his mother’s reaction was anything to go by, his happiness must have manifested itself into a dopey grin. 

“So… are we at the ‘boyfriend’ stage yet?” Claudia’s eyes were wide and hopeful and so full of love, Stiles couldn’t help but respond earnestly.

“Actually we are. Got there just this morning.”

“This morning?” Claudia’s face scrunched up in confusion, then suspicion. “Young man, did Derek stay here last night?”

Stiles grinned at his mother’s concern, not having heard it in several years. “No, mom. He called me to make sure I was up for school.”

Stiles had never heard his mom coo before, and he could do without hearing it again for a while. But he was pleased at how happy she was with his and Derek’s relationship, especially given the age difference. 

“That is just so precious. So, how are we going to tell your father?” 

“‘We’ are not going to tell him. I am going to tell him. We have a pack meeting tonight at the Hale house. You and dad are more than welcome to come, by the way. So I’ll probably wait and talk to him tomorrow after school.” 

Claudia nodded and they finished their meal while chatting idly.

After they had finished eating and cleared the table, Stiles still had a few minutes before he had to leave. He topped off his and his mom’s coffee mugs and sat back down with her at the kitchen table. They smiled at each other and sipped their coffees in silence for a moment, basking in each other’s presence.

“Hey, mom?” Stiles broke the silence uncertainly. 

“Yeah, sweetheart?” 

Stiles looked around the room and then back at his mother with mischief in his eyes. “Do you want to see something?”

“See what?” She looked excited but wary.

He waved a dismissive hand, “Oh, just something I learned recently.”

At a nod from his mother, Stiles brought his spark to his fingertips. He raised his hand and used his spark to open the refrigerator door, summon a water bottle from within, close the door, and open the cap before setting it down in front of his mom.

He puffed up with pride at his mother’s excited expression. She picked up the water bottle with enthusiasm and took a big gulp. “You didn’t learn that at school,” she accused him with a twinkle in her eye.

“Nope,” he replied. “Emissary training. I’m going to be the new pack emissary. Deaton’ll be training me.”

Claudia got up and swept Stiles up into a bone crushing hug before returning to her seat. “Oh, I’m so proud of you! Talia didn’t mention any of this last night. Of course, we were a little preoccupied with other matters.”

Stiles was too happy at her reaction to groan at the reminder that they had been gossiping about his and Derek’s relationship.

For the next few minutes before he had to leave, he took great pride in performing little tricks at his mother’s request, and only a little pride in the fact that he knew Deaton would hate that he was using his spark so injudiciously. 

Stiles swung by Boyd’s grandmother’s house to pick up Boyd and Erica on the way to school. Erica may be back from the dead, but her parents had still hardly noticed she was gone, so she’d been staying with Boyd. The two piled into the jeep looking nervous to be going back to school.

Stiles distracted them with an animated discussion about some movies that were coming out next weekend, a few comic books he’d just acquired, and some redundant school gossip, and by the time they pulled into the parking lot the two were smiling and relaxed. 

He was halfway through his 3rd period with Isaac and Allison when he received a text from Derek with a video attachment. He wiggled excitedly in his seat until Allison put a hand on his knee to steady him. She shot him a questioning look and he mouthed to her ‘Cora’s back.’

She smiled and turned around in her seat to tell Isaac. 

When 3rd period was over, he bolted through the halls to find Boyd, who was walking hand-in-hand with Erica to lunch. He pulled the two out to the empty parking lot to play the video.

Erica’s confusion was evident on her face, but she kept quiet after seeing how happy Boyd looked. 

The video started out a little shaky, since Derek was clearly still walking up the stairs to the loft. They could just make out Cora’s voice muttering threateningly about not putting the video up on the internet as the loft door slid open.

Derek entered behind Cora, and they could clearly see Laura and Talia standing next to the sofa in the middle of the room. Cora turned and looked just above the camera to where Derek’s face would be. She seemed very uncertain, but she must have seen something on Derek’s face that reassured her because she was in her mother’s arms in a flash.

Talia scooped her up and placed one hand around her waist and the other on the back of her head, cradling it gently.

Cora wrapped both arms around her mother tightly for a few seconds, then released her with one hand and used it to motion for Laura to come closer. 

Not needing any more encouragement than that, Laura flung herself on the pair, gripping them both firmly. Cora nuzzled her face into her mother’s neck and held the back of Laura’s shirt in a vice-like grip. 

When the trio parted, they took turns shining their eyes at each other and turned towards Derek to invite him into the group hug. 

Derek turned his phone towards himself and with a cheeky ‘My turn!’ he turned the camera off.

Stiles grinned dopily at his boyfriend’s antics and put his phone back in his pocket. He looked up to see Erica eying him speculatively, and Boyd grinning like a lunatic.

Erica suddenly looked uncertain and spoke up. “I… I remember her.” Boyd and Stiles shot her twin confused looks. “She was at the bank. I remember once Kali was taking me back to the vault after I went to the bathroom, and I saw this girl fighting with Ennis. Nearly knocked out his front teeth.” She stopped to smirk at the memory. “But I never saw her again. That – that was Cora?”

Stiles nodded. “Derek and Scott found her with Boyd in the vault. Derek had no idea she’d survived the fire.”

“I think you two will get along pretty well actually,” Boyd offered slyly. 

He eyed Stiles’ jeep with excitement and looked at Stiles pleadingly. 

Stiles shook his head with conviction. “Oh, no. No one drives my jeep but me.” He fished the keys out of his pocket and held them to his chest protectively.

“Please, Batman?” Erica looked at him with her puppy dog eyes in full force.

“Dammit, Catwoman. Fine!” He held his keys out but snatched them back when Erica went to grab them. He dangled them in front of Boyd, who took them with a grateful smile. “Only Boyd gets to drive.”

They strode over to the jeep and just before they reached it, Boyd looked behind him, flashed Stiles a wicked smile, and tossed Erica the keys. She snatched them out of the air without looking and ran to the driver’s side door.

“I hate you both,” he said in his normal tone, knowing they would hear him anyway. 

But when, half an hour later, he received a text from Derek with a picture of Cora and Boyd cuddled up on the couch with Erica’s feet in Cora’s lap, he couldn’t bring himself feel anything but happy.


	18. We are dating

After school, Stiles found out that the best thing about having a boyfriend was that they would pick you up when their spoiled betas stole your car and wouldn’t give it back. 

He was in the car and halfway to Derek, leaning in for a kiss when he froze. “PDA.” He leaned back into his seat.

Derek tilted his head to the side curiously. “Huh?”

“PDA. Public Displays of Affection. How comfortable are you with that? I mean I know we’re waiting to tell everyone we’re dating because reasons, but what about in front of the people who already know?”

Derek scrunched up his brows in adorable contemplation. After a second of thinking, he offered, “I don’t mind if you kiss me in front of people. I’d certainly like to be able to kiss you whenever I can.” Derek blushed beautifully. Stiles couldn’t help but lean over and plant a sweet kiss on his rosy cheek.

“Ok, great. That’s settled then. Can we swing by Deaton’s on the way to the house? I have to pick up a few things for the wards.”

Derek nodded and started the car. After their pit stop at Deaton’s, they arrived at the newly rebuilt Hale house and Stiles’ jaw dropped.

The driveway alone was five times longer than the one at the Stilinski’s place, and it curved into a circle at the base of the house. A multi-car garage stood off to the right of the main house. There was a wrap around porch with stairs leading up to the double front doors. It looked to be three stories tall with a wing on the left side. The front door and shutters were a striking red, while the house itself was slate grey. Stiles could see the beginning of an open area around back, but the house was blocking most of what he knew to be the training area. Other than that patch of land, the house was surrounded by trees.

Derek smiled at the wonder on Stiles’ face as they took the stairs up to the front doors.

The doors led to a completely open first floor. Stiles could see the kitchen and a living room to one side, and the staircase and an office to another side. There were only two rooms on the first floor with doors, other than the front hall closet. One, Stiles guessed, had to be the bathroom. The other – 

“It’s a library,” Derek correctly answered his silent question.

Stiles smiled and made a note to explore that further later. The Hales were notorious for their extensive book collection before the fire and he was sure some of the items that had been in the Hale vault could now be found in that library. 

“The second and third floors are all bedrooms, bathrooms, and offices. There are enough bedrooms for everyone in the pack,” Derek explained. “There’s a basement, but it’ll mostly be used for overflow storage if the shed outside gets too full. There’s also a fully equipped panic room down there.”

Stiles nodded as his eyes flitted back to the living room where Cora, Boyd, Erica, Laura, and Talia were all sitting comfortably. The room was about three times as big as Stiles’ living room, with two sofas, two loveseats, and two spacious armchairs all pointing at the TV. A large coffee table sat in front of each couch. 

“Hey, Stiles,” called Cora without taking her eyes off the TV. 

“Hey, Cora,” he replied, lifting his hand in a slight wave she didn’t see. 

Cora tossed a handful of popcorn into her mouth from the bowl on Boyd’s lap and, much to Stiles’ dismay, followed up with, “Erica thinks you’re boning my brother.” She finally turned to face him to gauge his reaction.

“Cora,” Talia admonished sternly.

Cora at least had the good sense to appear ashamed, but she still looked at Stiles expectantly.

By then, everyone had abandoned the TV and was watching the pair standing in the hallway, who were wearing matching expressions of horror.

Derek closed his eyes in resignation. Stiles was still stuck on horrified, but he closed his body off to the gawkers and leaned into Derek’s space. 

Suddenly, Derek laughed. The sight set off Stiles, who had to put a hand on Derek’s shoulder to stay upright. The wolves in the living room were all smiling widely at the display. Talia’s hand was on her heart and her smile threatened to split her whole face.

When Stiles and Derek regained their composure, Derek coughed and clarified, “Cora, we are not ‘boning.’ We are dating.” He smiled as he said the last word and wrapped his arm around Stiles’ shoulders. Stiles reciprocated immediately by wrapping his arm around Derek’s waist, with his hand coming to rest on the man’s hip.

Erica shrieked and hoisted herself up off the couch. Derek reeled Stiles in and pressed a kiss to the boy’s temple before they both had an armful of excited beta. 

Cora mimed throwing up, but shot Stiles a begrudging smile when they made eye contact around Erica’s curls. 

“Congrats, guys,” said Boyd, who had already gone back to eating popcorn and watching TV.

Erica detached herself from the two and they all headed towards the couches to settle in until everyone else arrived for the meeting.

“Thanks. We were going to wait to tell everyone, but I guess that’s out the window. Erica, what are you doing?” Derek eyed the girl suspiciously. 

She hid her phone behind her back and donned an innocent face that fooled exactly no one. “Nothing?” Derek raised one eyebrow at her and she ducked to hide behind Laura, who was sharing the loveseat with her. “Ok, well in my defense, I sent the text before you said you were waiting to tell people.”

Stiles’ eyes went wide. “Who did you text?”

Erica rushed to reassure him, “Just Isaac, I promise!”

“Shit,” Stiles swore. “Allison is giving him a ride here right now, he’s going to tell her and she’s going to tell Scott!”

Erica’s thumbs worked furiously on the keyboard of her new phone. “There! I told him not to tell anyone. Hold on, he’s typing.” She paused while the text came through, then deflated a little. “Ok, well he already told Allison. But she promised not to tell Scott.”

Stiles looked slightly relieved at the news, but then felt sick. “Wait, so you’re telling me the only person who doesn’t know other than my father, is Scott?”

“And Lydia,” Laura supplied.

Derek coughed.

“Really, Der?” Stiles turned his judgmental eyes to his boyfriend. 

Derek shrugged helplessly. “She basically told me that me and you were dating when we were texting this morning. I never stood a chance. You know her, she’s terrifying. It’s not like I could lie to her even if I wanted to.”

Stiles sighed, but conceded the point. “Oh, he’s going to be so mad at me.”

Talia, wonderful Talia, was the only one who chimed in with a helpful suggestion. “Stiles, dear, why don’t you take Scott into one of the offices upstairs and tell him when he arrives?”

He blew out a relieved breath and nodded his head in thanks. “Why upstairs?”

Talia’s mischievous glint was back in her eyes. “All the rooms on the top two floors are soundproofed. I suspect there will be some yelling.”

The pack laughed uproariously as Stiles stomped away petulantly to the kitchen. Even Derek was chuckling as he followed Stiles and set about making the poor boy some tea.

Derek rooted around in the cupboard until he suddenly reared back. “Oh, ew! Mom!” 

Talia and Laura both ran into the kitchen, only to stop short at the sight of Derek holding a jar of tea leaves at arm’s length and plugging his nose with the other. 

Cora, Erica, and Boyd followed more sedately, looking at Derek with curious expressions. When Cora caught a whiff of the tea, her eyes went wide. “Oh, wow, I remember that stuff! It smells like shit.” 

“Language,” Talia chided half-heartedly. 

Laura bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Mom loves that tea, guys. I got it just for her.”

Cora and Derek turned on her immediately. “YOU got this stuff,” Derek demanded. 

“Did you not remember how it smelled?” Cora’s eyes were wide and incredulous.

Derek grinned wickedly. “Maybe we should remind her.”

The two exchanged and evil glance and took off after Laura. 

Laura darted around the giant kitchen island, with Cora on one side and Derek on the other, boxing out her escape. There was a wall of windows with a sliding glass door to the outside at her back, but there was no way for her to open the door and get out before one of her siblings caught her. 

She rushed towards Cora since Derek was holding the tea, but Derek just threw the jar across the island to Cora, who caught it deftly and made as if she was going to open it. 

Laura switched directions and ran towards Derek, but Cora closed the half-open lid and tossed the jar to her brother, giggling madly. 

This went on for a few seconds as they tossed it back and forth, before Laura decided to bend the rules and launched herself over the island, back towards the wall that held the cupboards, refrigerator, and stove. 

“What has gotten into the Hale children?” Stiles’ question was met with an amused head shake from Boyd and a chuckle from Erica, who was on her toes and looked like she’d love nothing more than an invitation to play with them.

Talia stood off to the side regally, keeping a fond eye on her children.

Before Laura had fully landed on the other side of the island, Cora threw the jar to Erica, who was standing only a few feet from Laura now. “Come on! You’re basically a Hale,” she called with a laugh. 

Erica caught the jar and beamed ecstatically. Laura stopped short and turned to run the other way, only to find herself stopped by Boyd, who had somehow stepped past Stiles, gotten around the cabinets, and caught the jar that no one had seen Erica throw to him, without anyone having seen it happen. 

Everyone stopped moving. Laura was only feet away from the sneaky beta, gauging his next move carefully. Boyd’s face was blank as he slowly lifted his hand, attached it to the lid, and started opening the jar at an excruciating pace. 

Laura’s eyes were as big as saucers as she realized the others had taken this as a cue to surround her tightly so she couldn’t escape. Derek reached into the jar without breathing through his nose and grabbed a pinch of the leaves.

Laura’s pleas of, “Der, no!” were drowned out by her laughter as Derek took great pleasure in smearing the leaves all over her nose and face.

When the laughter had subsided, the wolves went about tidying up what little mess they had made. Derek made a cup of the smelly tea for his mother, and a different, non-smelly cup for Stiles. 

Derek and Stiles returned to the living room and caught the end part of the conversation about everyone else’s whereabouts, and found out that the rest of the pack would be arriving within the hour. They settled into one of the loveseats to wait comfortably.


	19. Yes, Derek Hale

The rest of the pack filed in slowly over the next hour or so. Laura, Erica, and Boyd took turns giving tours of the new house to each arrival. 

Stiles pulled Scott aside as soon as he walked in the door. “I need to talk to you,” he whispered urgently. 

Scott nodded. “Good, I need to talk to you, too.”

Stiles’ eyebrows shot up in alarm. “Me? Why? What did Allison tell you?” 

“Allison? Nothing.” Scott went from confused to concerned in the span of two seconds. “Why, is something wrong with Allison?” His head whipped around wildly searching for his girlfriend as Stiles led the confused Alpha up the stairs into the first room he came upon. 

“Nothing,” soothed Stiles. “Nothing is wrong with Allison. What did you want to tell me?” He sat down on a plush armchair in the corner of the office they had ended up in. 

Scott sat across from him on a small couch.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about my role in the pack after our meeting with Talia. I wanted to run a few things by you before proposing them to the pack.” 

At Stiles’ encouraging nod, he continued. “As pack emissary, one of your primary jobs will be to advise the Alphas, right?” Another nod from Stiles prompted him to go on. 

“I think it would be a good idea for you to sit down with each of us separately in the next few days. Just to get an idea of our leadership styles. We’re all so different, you know? You’ll have to advise us all in different ways. So why not spend some time with us emissary-to-Alpha to help facilitate that?” His face was so hopeful and nervous at the end, Stiles couldn’t help but smile. 

“Scott, buddy, that’s a great idea. And bonus points for your use of the word ‘facilitate.’” Scott perked up and once again Stiles was shocked at how he could go from serious Alpha to excited puppy at a moment’s notice. 

Scott nodded, relieved. “Ok, good. Uh, there’s one more thing I wanted to talk to you about before the meeting.”

“What’s that?”

Scott looked down, suddenly not wanting to make eye contact with Stiles. “It’s about Allison.”

Stiles cleared his throat. “What about Allison?”

“Well, she told me about your conversation in the car when she came back. Not the whole thing, but parts of it she thought I would need to know. And I really want the two of you to be comfortable around each other.”

“I want that too,” Stiles whispered.

“So my thought was that it might be beneficial to the two of you if you interacted more over the next few weeks. Like, meeting for coffee every few days or something. Just so it stops being so awkward for the two of you to be in the same room.”

“Scotty, you know how much I like Allison – .”

Scott rushed to reassure Stiles. “I know, I know! I’m not saying you don’t. Just that I think if you two spent more time together, and got more comfortable with each other, it would help you both move past what happened.”

Stiles took a deep breath while he considered what Scott was saying. He smiled wryly at the Alpha. “So you’re saying you want me to date Allison, then?”

The horrified look on his best friend’s face was totally worth it. “Ew, no, dude!”

The two laughed for a moment before growing serious once more.

“Ok,” Stiles conceded. “If she’s up for it, I’ll give it a try.”

Scott beamed. “Awesome. Ok, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well,” Stiles hedged. “Speaking of me dating…”

“Are you dating someone? And you didn’t tell me,” Scott demanded incredulously.

Stiles shrank into his chair apologetically. “Maybe?”

“Who? Did you get back together with Malia or something?” He cocked his head to the side questioningly. 

“No, but did you hear she achieved the full shift? Kira sent me a picture. Apparently they’re both doing really well up in Seattle, I’d be surprised if they came back at all…” Stiles trailed off, hoping Scott would take the bait.

And he did. “Really? No, I hadn’t seen – wait!”

Stiles snickered.

“Don’t distract me. Who are you dating?” Scott desperately needed to work on his stern Alpha face, but Stiles gave in anyway.

With a deep breath, Stiles steeled himself and said, “Derek.”

“HALE?” Scott’s eyes went Alpha red.

Stiles rolled his eyes, unaffected. “Do we know any other Dereks, Scott? Yes, Derek Hale.”

“You’re dating Derek Hale.”

“Yup.”

Scott stood up and paced around the room.

“But he – . I don’t… I’m not.” Scott resumed his seat and leaned forward with his head in his hands. 

Stiles waited nervously, not sure if he should cut into Scott’s thoughts. After a few minutes of complete silence, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“I’m really happy, Scott,” he told his friend earnestly. 

His tone caused Scott’s head to rise from his hands sharply. They locked eyes and Scott regarded Stiles curiously for a moment. 

“Ok,” he said simply. 

“Ok?” Stiles squinted guardedly. 

Scott nodded. “Ok. If you’re happy, I’m happy. That’s always been the case, Stiles.” 

Stiles rose from his chair and didn’t wait for Scott to get up from his seat before he hoisted his best friend to his feet and pulled him in for a hug. When Scott reciprocated enthusiastically without hesitation, it reminded Stiles of something he’d been meaning to bring up with him. 

“Hey, you didn’t flinch the other day.” His voice was muffled slightly due to his face being stuffed into Scott’s shoulder, but he figured Scott would get the gist of what he was saying. 

Scott’s brow furrowed in confusion at the statement and sudden subject change. “Huh?”

“The other day, and just now. You didn’t flinch when you touched me,” he clarified, lifting his head.

Scott looked down embarrassed as he and Stiles separated. “I told you, I’ve been trying.”

They smiled at each other and turned in tandem to walk towards the door. 

“You know that just because I’m sort of ok with you and Derek, that doesn’t mean I want details on your sex life.” Scott’s face scrunched up as he spoke.

Stiles scoffed. “Buddy, for all I had to put up with when you were with Allison before, you’re going to put up with all the details I want to share with you.”

Scott groaned but conceded, and the two opened the door and ventured back down the stairs to start the pack meeting. 

As Stiles reached the bottom of the stairs and saw that his parents had arrived, he remembered suddenly that he had forgotten to mention one crucial detail to Scott. He grabbed his friend by the shoulder and turned him around urgently.

“By the way, my dad doesn’t know about me and Derek yet,” he whispered.

Scott’s eyes shot around the room in alarm for his friend. “Dude! Werewolf ears,” he whisper-shouted back. “Everyone just heard that!”

“Uh, about that… they already know.” Stiles closed one eye and reared back, prepared for yelling.

But all he got was a brief hurt look crossing Scott’s face. “All of them?” The puppy dog eyes really were a killer.

Stiles deflated. “I’m sorry, man. We didn’t really tell anyone. They just kind of found out. And Erica told Isaac, who told Allison. And Talia told your mom – .”

“MY MOM?” 

Every head on the first floor turned towards the two boys. Claudia, Talia, and Melissa quickly ushered John into the kitchen for a glass of scotch, and Allison rushed to Scott’s side.

“Scott,” she whispered urgently. “Keep your voice down.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry,” he offered Stiles. “Just, my mom? Everyone knew before me?”

“I didn’t plan for it to work out that way, you have to know that.” Stiles reached out blindly behind him where he knew Derek would be standing and grabbed the man’s hand.

“Yeah, I know,” Scott conceded. He looked down at Stiles and Derek’s interlocked hands and drew himself to full height. “Derek?” He locked eyes with the man.

Stiles could tell Derek was trying hard not to smirk. “Yes, Scott?”

“We’re going to have a talk later, you and me.”

Derek lost the war with his face and let a small smirk grace his lips. “Is it going to be about all the things you’ll do to me if I hurt Stiles?” He cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

Scott ignored the smirk and nodded defiantly. “Yes.”

“You got it.”

There was a knock on the door and Derek stiffened at Stiles’ side. Stiles looked around for Laura and her face confirmed who the final arrival of the night was. 

Peter was here.


	20. Not a bad idea

Lydia bounced regally toward the door and opened it with a superior flourish. John, Claudia, Talia, and Melissa reappeared from the kitchen to watch the scene unfold.

Dom smiled and stepped forward to plant a brief kiss on Lydia’s cheek before waltzing into the living room and sweeping Cora off her feet. The pair spun around happily reuniting while everyone else turned their attention the stalemate at the front door. 

“Peter,” Lydia greeted him placidly.

“Miss Martin.” His eyes strayed to the diamond bracelet adorning her wrist. “I see you got my gift.” Peter smirked and inclined his head respectfully as Lydia stepped aside to allow the man entry into the house. 

“I have received the first of your gifts, yes,” she corrected him imperiously as they took their seats. 

The atmosphere was tense as the pack settled into the living room to start the meeting. 

Talia began by welcoming them all to the new Hale house. She singled out Isaac and Erica and invited them both to pick a bedroom on the second floor. The other younger pack members were encouraged to do the same as a group once the meeting was over. The two were overcome with emotion at being singled out; Erica had quiet tears streaming down her face and seemed overwhelmed at how welcoming the Hales were being towards her. She curled into Cora on their couch, where they stayed cuddled up for the rest of the meeting. Isaac looked shocked initially, but smiled shyly at Talia before nodding and shrinking back into the loveseat he shared with Boyd.

Talia turned the meeting over to Scott, who announced his plan for the emissary-Alpha meetings, as well as his plan to implement weekly pack nights for the younger members of the pack to get together for various activities once a week. The details of those meetings would be decided by Scott and Isaac.

When Scott was finished, Derek stood and outlined his training regimen for each of the betas, as well as for the humans. He and Lydia were in the process of drawing up a schedule for both individual and group training, and would be distributing it before the end of the week. The schedule would include conditioning, fighting technique, and weapons training. Derek asked for Allison, Chris, and the Sheriff to stay for a moment when the meeting was over so he and Lydia could speak to the three of them specifically.

The meeting ended shortly after that and everyone split up into smaller groups to chat. Derek, Lydia, Allison, Chris, and John went outside to the training area to speak privately. Stiles was curious, but made no move to follow them. Scott kissed Allison before she went outside, and left for his shift at the clinic with Deaton. 

Erica and Isaac raced upstairs to claim their rooms, with Cora and Boyd trailing after the two at a more sedate pace. Claudia, Melissa, and Talia opened a bottle of wine and disappeared up the stairs into one of the second floor offices to chat. Stiles rolled his eyes; he knew exactly what the three of them were going to be gossiping about. Before she reached the staircase, Claudia darted back into the kitchen to grab a second bottle, while Melissa and Talia nodded approvingly from the top of the stairs.

Stiles looked around and discovered that he was suddenly alone with Laura, Peter, and Dom. Laura had left the pair in the living room and was perched on top of the kitchen island radiating sadness.

Stiles approached her slowly. She didn’t look up from her hands in her lap until the boy was only a few feet away. She attempted a smile, but dropped it almost immediately. 

Stiles looked behind her through the wall of windows and saw Derek nodding at Allison, who beamed and grabbed Lydia’s hand. The two disappeared in the direction of the archery range. Derek, Chris, and the Sheriff stayed outside to talk a bit more.

Stiles hoisted himself up onto the counter beside Laura and knocked their shoulders together lightly. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Laura snorted, which Stiles counted as a win. She looked up through her lashes at Peter and Dom, who had their heads together and were whispering quietly, their bodies angled towards one another on the loveseat they shared.

“Ah,” he said. “Peter drama. I happen to know the subject well. Did I ever tell you about the time I set him on fire?”

That earned him a surprised giggle from Laura and an exasperated glare from the former Alpha, who had evidently been eavesdropping. 

“It’ll work out,” Stiles told her gently. 

Laura nodded but looked unconvinced. “Is he different? Than he was when he, you know…”

“Killed you?”

She flinched, but continued. “Yeah. I want everything to work out, I really do. Everything has been so wonderful since I’ve been back. But it still feels like something’s missing.”

Her eyes flickered over to Peter, who was steadfastly avoiding gazing into the kitchen. From the broken look on his face, Stiles could tell he was listening intently to Laura’s words.

“I know what you mean. But he is different, I can see a change in him even just over the past couple of days. We’ll just have to give it time to see how different.” He hooked his arm over her shoulder. She leaned into him and he tucked her head under his chin. The sat like that for several minutes before they heard the glass door behind them open just as Boyd and Erica reemerged from upstairs.

Chris shook hands with Derek and John, nodded at the rest of the pack, and left. 

Erica had a palpable spring in her step with the excitement of having her own room, and it took Boyd wrapping his arm around her waist to keep her from bouncing up and down through the kitchen.

Derek smiled at his betas. “Hey, Erica?” His posture was relaxed as he smiled slightly.

Erica looked up at her Alpha questioningly, with her eyebrows raised as an invitation for him to continue.

“You said once that you wouldn’t mind getting your license, it that still true? Do you still want to learn how to drive?” Stiles could see the hesitance on his face, even if no one else picked up on it.

Erica nodded cautiously. Stiles knew she’d told him that right before she and Boyd had left him. In fact, it may have been the last thing Erica had said to Derek before he found her body.

Derek grinned triumphantly. “Come on then, before it gets dark.” At her confused look, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to his Camero. He tossed them to the beta, who looked at them with a stunned expression before breaking into a wide grin. She extracted herself gracefully from Boyd’s grasp and ran to her Alpha across the kitchen. She grabbed Derek’s hand without stopping and led him excitedly out the front door towards the garage. 

Derek shot the group a ‘what have I gotten myself into?’ look that wasn’t fooling anyone, and then the two were gone. 

Stiles couldn’t wipe the smile from his face as he turned to Boyd, “Where are Isaac and Cora?”

“Isaac asked Cora to help him figure out how he wants to decorate his room.” He grinned wickedly. “And they were taking pictures of the room so he could send them to Pahn.”

Laura and Stiles’ chuckles died out as Peter and Dom swept in from the living room. 

Dom shot Laura a wink. “We’ve got to get going. It was wonderful seeing you all again.”

Peter stayed uncharacteristically silent as the two of them left, leaving Laura, Boyd, Stiles, and the Sheriff alone in the kitchen. 

“Well,” started John, “I’d better be off too. You’re staying here tonight, kid?”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, probably. That ok?”

“As long as you get your homework done. I should probably go get your mother and see if she wants to move the party to our place. Don’t want to cramp your style,” he finished with a smirk.

Stiles rolled his eyes but smiled. “Hey, what did Derek and Lydia want to talk to you about?” Laura and Boyd, who hadn’t been paying attention before now, looked at the Sheriff inquisitively.

“He asked us for help with the weapons training. Asked Allison to be in charge of archery, Chris to take over knife training, and me to take care of teaching you all how to shoot. Not a bad idea,” he finished, clearly impressed. 

Stiles couldn’t help the proud look creeping in on his face. His dad looked a little confused at the strange reaction, but thankfully Laura distracted him with deputy talk before he could ask about it.

A few minutes later, John, Melissa, Talia, and Claudia were on their way to the Stilinski house, leaving Stiles, Boyd, Isaac, Laura, Cora, Allison, and Lydia alone to await the return of Derek and Erica. 

Stiles, Boyd, and Laura grabbed seats in the living room and watched some TV until Cora and Isaac reappeared from upstairs. The five of them had just started discussing dinner when Lydia and Allison came back in from exploring the archery range. 

“Hey, Ally,” Stiles called while she was still in the kitchen. She looked up at the sound of his voice. “Did Scott tell you we’re going to start going on regular dates?”

Allison grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and walked over to plop down on the couch next to Stiles with a laugh. “Yeah, he did. He’s kind of adorable, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, I think we’ll keep him,” Stiles agreed. He noticed how much more comfortable he already was sitting next to her, and thought with pride that Scott might be right.

Isaac and Boyd started wrestling on the ground over the remote while Cora narrated as if she were a professional wrestling commentator. Laura could hardly contain her laughter from her perch on the arm of the loveseat she shared with Lydia, who appeared begrudgingly amused. 

“So what do you think? Dinner tomorrow night?” Allison looked at Stiles expectantly.

“Ah, can’t tomorrow. I’m making dinner for my parents. I’m going to tell my dad about Derek.” Stiles bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Allison whistled lowly. “Got it. Wednesday?”

Stiles nodded and they leaned back to watch the wrestling match unfold before them.


	21. You're Stiles Stilinski

Lydia and Allison went home after dinner and Laura and Cora retreated to their rooms upstairs, leaving Stiles, Derek, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica in the dining room unable to move because their stomachs were so full. 

“Der,” Erica groaned. “Where did you learn to cook like that?”

The tips of Derek’s ears turned pink at the compliment, but his face retained its practiced unaffected look. “In New York, when I lived there with Laura after the fire.”

It was the first time Derek had ever mentioned the fire without a haunted look in his eye. Stiles smiled and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips, which Derek chased adorably as Stiles pulled away.

Isaac sighed in resignation. “We’re gonna have to get use to that, huh?”

“Yup!” Stiles stood and started clearing the table. Boyd rose as well to help, but Erica and Isaac were still incapable of moving after having had fifth helpings of everything on the table. 

When the table was cleared, the betas relocated to the living room and cuddled up on the couch to watch a movie. Stiles grabbed his backpack and unloaded the items he needed for the wards.

He spent the next few minutes mixing herbs and flipping through his notes before he was ready to begin. “Derek?” The boy looked around the first floor for his boyfriend but couldn’t find him. As he approached the staircase, he heard giggling coming from the second floor.

Stiles walked up the stairs to track the source of the noise and found one of the bedroom doors wide open. He peeked in and saw Laura and Cora sitting triumphantly on top of Derek on the bed. Derek looked so incredibly put out by this development that Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. “What is going on in here?”

Laura flicked Derek’s ear affectionately and responded, “Well, I was only trying to pay him a simple compliment about how well he did at the meeting and he just wouldn’t hear it.”

“Uh huh.” Stiles turned his attention to Cora, who was sprawled over Derek’s legs. “And you?”

Cora just shrugged. “She needed some help.” 

Derek wiggled his way out from underneath the pile and made his way to the doorway. “You need something?”

Stiles nodded, still smiling. “Yeah, I’m going to start the wards. Thought maybe you could help.”

“Of course. Do you want me to call Lydia back, too?”

The boy shook his head. “No, but Laura, any chance you want to help?” Laura cocked her head to the side and considered it for a moment before agreeing. 

“Oh, and Cora,” Stiles added wryly, “I’m pretty sure there’s the start of a puppy pile downstairs with your name on it.” He beamed when she rolled her eyes but sprinted out of the room, unable to contain her excitement. 

Laura, Derek, and Stiles reentered the kitchen to grab the supplies, leaving the four betas in their pile on the couch in the living room. It appeared as though Cora had simply flung herself across the other three.

The three ventured outside, which was surprisingly well lit thanks to the perimeter lights Talia had insisted upon, and Stiles got to work right away. He placed the stones for the runes all around the outside of the house while Laura and Derek followed curiously. Once the stones were set, he added some of the herb mixtures to them. The other mixtures went directly on the front door and in the dirt surrounding the driveway. 

When everything was set, he beckoned for Derek and Laura to flank him so he could be centered during the actual casting bit. They made their way to every location Stiles had left a rune or herbs and he chanted a different incantation at each one.

Stiles was exhausted but pleased when he felt the house settle once the last rune was activated. Derek and Laura helped him inside where he collapsed contentedly on one of the loveseats and hummed happily when Derek joined him and began massaging his feet. 

When the movie the betas had put on was over, Boyd broke the silence. “What are the wards you put up? Are they different than the ones you have on the pack boundary lines in the Preserve?”

Stiles sat up and nodded. “Yeah those are really just proximity alarms. Any unauthorized supernatural creature who shouldn’t be in our territory will trigger them, and I can feel it when they do.”

Stiles had the attention of every werewolf in the room as he continued. “These wards are specific to the Hale house. There’s a fire protection one, obviously. There’s one at the front door that prevents unwanted visitors from entering. And one that repels anyone who comes within a certain distance of the house with bad intentions, that one’s pretty cool. I also hid a few surprises since we may be dealing with angry witches sometime in our future.” He grew more and more excited as he listed off the wards.

“I’ll add more as I think of them, but most of them are your basic protection spells. There are only a few offensive ones.”

The pack nodded sleepily and broke off to head to bed. Erica bounced up the stairs to her new room, but stopped at the top before running back down and into Derek’s arms. 

To say the Alpha was surprised would be an understatement. The shocked look on his face was enough to cause Boyd to laugh under his breath. Derek caught his beta and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. She nuzzled her face into his neck and whispered, “This was the best day of my life.”

Derek pulled back with a private smile and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before they let go.

The betas went off to bed, leaving Stiles and Derek alone. Stiles settled in to finish his homework while Derek read a book nearby. The silence in the house was soothing instead of lonely, and Stiles soon found himself falling asleep. He hardly registered the strong arms lifting him off the ground and carrying him up the stairs before ridding him of his jeans and plopping him onto a bed made of clouds. He felt Derek climb into the bed and wrap his warm arms around him before they both drifted off to sleep.

Stiles drove the betas to school the next morning with a permanent smile etched onto his face. This smile prompted a fond one in return from Scott when they met at Stiles’ locker. 

The Alpha shook his head. “Dude, you are so lucky your dad isn’t a werewolf. You reek of Derek. Are you wearing his shirt?”

Stiles looked down at the slightly loose Henley. “Oh, yeah,” he chuckled sheepishly. 

Scott rolled his eyes and led his love struck best friend to their first class.

The day was going well and passing by pretty quickly, despite the impending dinner with his parents looming over Stiles’ head, until everyone was settled into lunch. Stiles was halfway through his sandwich when he felt one of the proximity wards in the Preserve go off.

“Stiles? What’s wrong?” Allison put a hand on his back as he doubled over in discomfort.

The rest of the pack sat up straight, waiting for the signal from Stiles to fight whatever it was that was causing this reaction. As he regained his composure, Stiles started issuing orders.

“Proximity ward just went off on the boundary line. Cora, drive Scott and Isaac out to the South entrance of the Preserve and wait there.” Allison tossed Cora her car keys before Stiles had finished doling out his instructions, earning her a grateful nod from Cora. “Boyd and Erica, take my car and go pick up Derek, Talia, and Laura at the Hale house.” He handed Boyd his keys and turned to Lydia. “Allison and I will go with you to the Argent’s place to pick up weapons. Let’s go!”

They ran out to the parking lot. Stiles could hear Scott on the phone with his mom, giving her a head’s up that there might be a fight so she should be on standby to patch them up. Stiles climbed into Lydia’s car and shot a text to Derek letting him know of the plan. He hesitated before texting his dad to make sure his deputies stayed away from the Preserve for the next hour or so. He received acknowledgment and warnings to be careful from both of them and put his phone away.

After they picked up supplies, the three of them and Chris headed over to the Preserve.

They were halfway there when Stiles got a call from Derek.

“What’s going on?” Stiles frowned in confusion as he answered his phone.

“It was three omegas. They didn’t put up much of a fight, they were too weak,” Derek replied swiftly. “We’ve got them at the house in the basement.”

“Is it equipped for that?”

“Yeah, there were holding cages in the old house for young or new werewolves who couldn’t control themselves during the shift. Mom had them included in the new blueprints.”

“Ok, we’re on our way. Be careful.”

Stiles hung up and passed along the new information to Lydia, who changed their course and started driving them to the Hale house.

They arrived to find Isaac with a nasty scratch on his back that was already healing, and a pissed off Laura who was grumbling about having been punched in the nose. Other than that, there were no pack injuries. 

Scott and Derek entered the kitchen from the stairway leading into the basement.

Derek shook his head at the hopeful look he got from Cora. “They’re not talking.”

Talia frowned. “If they wanted safe passage through our territory, they wouldn’t have initiated an altercation. There must be a reason they are here.”

“Do we know their names?” Stiles piped up from the other side of the kitchen.

Scott shook his head. “They won’t tell us. The only time one of them spoke was when the tall one complimented your rune. Said he’d never encountered a proximity rune that strong before.”

That piqued Stiles’ interest, and he made his way to the staircase to investigate. The three Alphas, Laura, Cora, and Boyd all followed him. Erica and Lydia stayed behind to attend to Isaac while Chris and Allison left to sweep the perimeter of the house. Lydia told Stiles she would call his dad to let him know what was going on.

Stiles reached the bottom of the staircase and turned left into a room with a large cage to one side. The cage was about 30 feet long and 10 feet wide. There were three unfamiliar werewolves inside; two were pacing and one taller wolf was standing still in front of the cage door.

When Stiles approached the cage, the wolf at the door retreated back to the wall in fear. His eyes went wide and gold in horror and he hissed at the other two to stop their pacing. 

“You’re him, aren’t you? You’re Stiles Stilinski.”


	22. The common denominator

There was complete silence in the basement as all eyes turned to Stiles.

One of the other werewolves in the cage broke the uneasy stillness with a scoff. “Stiles Stilinski is a myth. He’s not a real person. And if he was, he wouldn’t be that,” he gestured dismissively to the boy in front of him.

“Hey!” Stiles crossed his arms in indignation as Derek and Scott flanked him menacingly.

“He’s not a myth, you idiot. Do you even know the stories they tell about this kid?” The tall one turned to his fellow omegas as he spoke. The one who questioned Stiles shrugged with disinterest while the other shook his head. The three of them looked to be in their mid to late twenties.

“Ok, before we get into how awesome I am, can you tell me your names? I’m getting tired of calling you the tall one, the dumb one, and the quiet one in my head,” Stiles interrupted with an eye roll. 

The tall one answered for the group. “I’m Grady. The dumb one’s Wallace and the quiet one’s Keith.”

“How do you know about Stiles?” Scott flashed his eyes at Grady, who bowed his head respectfully before answering.

“Everyone knows about him. The human who took down a kanima and its master? He helped kill an Alpha when he was only 16. And he helped take down that Argent bitch, Kate.” Keith’s eyes went wide and he took a few steps back from the cage door as Grady spoke, refusing to look at Stiles.

Stiles took a second to be thankful that Lydia, Chris, and Allison were upstairs before responding dismissively. “You make me sound like Harry Potter. Harry and I both had a lot of help doing the things we’ve done.”

Grady continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “You took down the Alpha pack and a darach at the same time. You are the only known person to ever survive a Nogitsune possession.”

Stiles held his hand up to stop him, but Grady kept going, much to Keith’s horror. “And this was all before you learned magic. Do you have any idea how horrified the supernatural community was to learn that you had a spark? Not only that, but in just a few months, you had mastered a spell to bring someone back from the brink of death.” He stopped and fixed Stiles with a look of reverence. At the sight of Stiles’ confused frown, he added, “Yes, even the Fae gossip.” 

Wallace looked begrudgingly impressed while Keith seemed downright terrified. He stood with his back pressed completely against the wall, as far away from Stiles as he could possibly be.

Stiles shook his head. “Again, you’re making me out to be some kind of superhero. I didn’t do any of those things alone.”

Grady looked at him in amazement and took a brave step forward. “You’re the common denominator here, Stiles. You. You also somehow convinced the Fae King and Queen to bring some of the Hale pack and an Argent back to life.”

The pack shuffled restlessly at that one. 

“Who told you about that,” Scott demanded furiously.

Grady shrugged. “A buddy of mine was at a bar where some hunter was talking about it. He said Chris Argent told him, warned him to stay out of it.” He turned to address Stiles directly. “He also said you found a way for three Alphas to lead a pack peacefully. Are you telling me that was someone else? Kid, that kind of thing doesn’t happen.”

Stiles looked around helplessly, refusing to believe he had become some big, bad bedtime story you told a kid to keep them in line in the supernatural community. 

To his dismay, his pack exchanged glances and looked like they were conceding Grady’s points. 

Grady leaned forward and took a big sniff. “And you’re an Alpha’s mate, too. Huh.”

Derek coughed and rushed to change the subject, but not before Stiles shot him a look to tell him they would be talking about it later. “If you’re so afraid of Stiles, why did you attack his pack?”

“Didn’t have a choice,” Grady responded airily. “The head of the Marina coven out in Nevada caught the three of us squatting on their land. They said we could either die at their hands, or do them a favor. If we did them the favor, they said they’d find us a pack.”

“Kind of a no brainer, really,” chimed in Wallace.

Stiles ignored Wallace and addressed Grady. “What was the favor?”

“A member of their coven, Isabelle, went missing after being sent here. They wanted us to find out what happened to her.”

The pack stiffened and Stiles looked to Talia. “And if something had happened to her,” she flashed her red eyes, “While she was trespassing in our territory? What then?”

Grady held his hands up and bared his neck to Talia. “Hey, we were just sent to find out what happened. Anything that comes out of the information we gather is out of our hands.”

Stiles took a step forward, prompting Grady to take a step back. “Why was Isabelle here? She said she wanted me to go with her, that the Nogitsune was still inside me.” He shivered, but calmed when Derek laid a warm hand on his shoulder.

Surprisingly, it was Keith who answered Stiles’ question, though he didn’t quite meet the boy’s eyes. “No, there is nothing of the Nogitsune left inside of you. That would be impossible, given what you and your pack would have had to do to remove it.”

Stiles tilted his head to the side in question.

Grady chuckled under his breath. “Keith’s the brains of our operation. He knows everything there is to know about supernatural creatures. He’s something of an expert on kitsunes. But anyway, we don’t know exactly what they want from you, only that the head of the coven wants you to join them.”

Stiles’ eyes widened. “Join them? But I already have a pack, there’s no way I’m leaving them.”

Derek nodded, finally understanding. “That’s why they sent a scout. Either she would have succeeded in bringing you back with her, or she would have had to attack and the coven could use our altercation as an excuse to attack us in retaliation.” He turned to his mother, who agreed.

“Unfortunately, I think you’re right. Excuse me, I must consult with Allison and Chris.” She disappeared out of the room and up the stairs. 

Stiles turned to the omegas in the cage and took a good look at the three of them. Their clothes were tattered and covered in blood, some stains appeared to be days or even weeks old. There were bags under their eyes and each of them had a shiftiness in their posture that obviously came with constantly having to look over your shoulder. They looked pathetic.

“Unlock the cage,” he said to the room, not knowing who exactly had the key.

Laura stepped up, key in hand. “Are you sure?”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, they’re not a threat to us. Look at them.”

The others took a good look at their captives and had to agree.

“Scott,” Stiles caught the attention of his friend. “Can you go to the laundry room and grab some fresh clothes? Some that don’t smell too much like another wolf?” He was careful to phrase the request as a question, not an order. He didn’t want the omegas to get the impression that Scott was someone to be undermined. 

Scott agreed and left the room.

Derek still looked hesitant about letting them out. “I don’t think they should be unsupervised, Stiles.”

Stiles considered that for a moment. “You’re right. Laura, can you look after Grady?” 

She nodded and leveled the tall omega with a predatory look.

Grady stared back with a smirk, unperturbed. “Sorry about the nose, princess.” Laura growled and unlocked the cage, grabbing Grady roughly by the shoulder and leading him up the stairs.

Stiles looked at the two left in the cage. Wallace had a look on his face like he was completely done with everyone and everything, but Stiles was starting to think that was just his go-to expression. “Cora, you take Wally, here.” 

Wallace turned his nose up at the nickname, but followed Cora anyway.

“Boyd, can you look after Keith?” The beta nodded and the two of them left without a word, leaving Derek and Stiles alone in the basement.

Stiles turned to his boyfriend with a cocked eyebrow. “Mates, huh?”

Derek lowered his head and muttered, “That’s really not how I wanted you to find out.”

Stiles placed his hands on either side of Derek’s face and forced the Alpha to look up at him. “Derek. I understand why you didn’t tell me.”

Derek, whose hands had found Stiles’ waist instinctively, looked hopeful. “You do?”

Stiles nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I do. We just started dating, and I’m still in high school. You probably thought I’d go running for the hills if you brought up mates and forever. Am I close?”

Derek pressed a sweet, slow kiss to Stiles’ lips. “You never cease to amaze me.”

Stiles grabbed Derek’s hand and led him up the stairs. “Yeah, well you should stop underestimating me, Sourwolf. Apparently I’m a Big Bad. There are bedtime stories about me and everything. Really, we need to find me a supervillain name or something.”

Derek rolled his eyes and looked to the ceiling for strength. “You’re going to be insufferable about this now, aren’t you?”

Stiles scoffed. “You bet your wolfy ass, I am! It’s not every day you find out the supernatural world quakes at the sound of your name.”

Derek sighed and they argued about Stiles’ relative scariness all the way up the stairs and into the living room, where the rest of the pack had gathered for an impromptu meeting.


	23. Yes, sir

After the meeting, where it was decided that the three omegas would stay under constant supervision at the Hale house until the pack figured out exactly what to do with them, Stiles left for the grocery store to buy the juiciest steaks he could find. That night’s dinner would include a few of the main foods Stiles never let his dad eat, to butter him up for when Stiles broke the news of his relationship with Derek.

Lydia tagged along after some pleading from Stiles; he needed someone to bounce his speech off of and who better than the smartest person Stiles knew?

She tutted and rolled her eyes whenever Stiles picked up another taboo food item to add to the cart. Soon after, they were in Stiles’ car and heading back to his house to do some homework before Stiles had to start cooking.

Claudia came home from her shift at the bookstore right as Lydia finished her work, so the two of them stayed in the living room to talk about Lydia’s college prospects while Stiles disappeared into the kitchen to begin cooking the bacon mashed potatoes and season the steaks. 

Stiles had just started to broil the steaks when his dad arrived home from work. 

“Hey, honey,” he leaned forward to plant a kiss on his wife’s cheek. “Lydia,” he greeted the two in the living room and took off his shoes. 

They both welcomed him with a smile.

“Lydia, sweetheart, are you staying for dinner?” Claudia got up from the couch and started tidying up the dining room table as she spoke.

“I can’t tonight but thank you, Mrs. Stilinski. I have to head back to the Hale house. Erica and I have our first training session on the archery range with Allison in about half an hour.” Lydia put her school work back into her bag and called out a goodbye to Stiles and the Sheriff. 

Stiles shivered at the thought of an archery session with those three, but put it out of his mind when his dad entered the kitchen to see what smelled so good.

He raised his eyebrows in suspicious surprise. “Steaks, Stiles? What did you do?”

Stiles opened his mouth indignantly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Can’t a son simply want to spoil his father?”

John just chuckled in response and went upstairs to change before dinner.

Claudia tiptoed over to Stiles, who was spooning the mashed potatoes into a large bowl. “You’re telling him tonight, right,” she whispered excitedly, wiggling her eyebrows.

Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, mom. I’m telling him tonight.”

She whooped happily and went off to set the table.

As they sat down to eat, his dad asked him for a breakdown of what had happened after the pack captured the omegas. Stiles smiled proudly as he told them all the things that Grady had said about him while his parents held hands over the table and smiled. John and Claudia frowned when Stiles conveyed the rest of the story about the reason for the omega’s intrusion.

“So you guys are going to let them stay?” His dad managed to ask around a mouthful of steak.

Stiles nodded. “Provisionally. They were threatened into spying for the witches, dad. I don’t think they’re bad people, they just want to be part of a pack again. But we’re obviously going to have to wait a bit to see if we can trust them. And we can’t just let them go so they can report back to the coven everything they’ve learned about the pack.”

Stiles sighed and pushed back from the table, full after having had third helpings of the mashed potatoes.

His dad pursed his lips. “That’s not why you made steak tonight though is it, Stiles?” He put his utensils down and gave his son his full attention.

Stiles grinned guiltily and sighed. “No, that’s not why.”

He looked around to his mother, who was nodding encouragingly. He locked eyes with his dad and began, “I’m seeing someone.”

“You’re seeing someone.” His dad’s face was infuriatingly blank.

“Yes.” Stiles rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

John cocked his eyebrow. “Do I know this someone?”

Stiles nodded and fidgeted in his seat. “You do.”

“Do I like this someone?” His second eyebrow joined the first.

Stiles licked his lips and thought about his response for a second. “I believe you do now, yes.”

“Is it Derek Hale?”

Stiles’ eyes widened as he turned towards his mom. “Did you tell him?”

She put her hands up innocently while trying to suppress a smirk. “Don’t look at me, I didn’t say a word.”

John took the exchange as confirmation. “Dammit, Stiles!”

Stiles slumped into his chair, devastated. He knew his dad might not be pleased, but he didn’t expect yelling.

John continued, “Now I owe Melissa 20 bucks.” He deflated, laying his head in his hands in defeat.

Claudia couldn’t hold her laughter in any longer.

Stiles was flummoxed. “Wait, you’re not mad that I’m dating Derek? And what do you mean you owe Melissa 20 bucks? Have you been betting on me?”

His dad nodded grumpily. “She said you two would get your heads out of your asses and start dating before the school year ended, and I had you down for waiting until summer break.”

Stiles’ jaw dropped resentfully but he was trying really hard not to smile. “I can’t believe you two bet on me. So does that mean you’re ok with the two of us dating?”

John nodded his head twice. “But, son, we do need to talk about one thing. Your age.”

Stiles bit his lip before responding. “Yeah, Derek and I already talked about that.”

“I’m glad the two of you acknowledged it, but let me put my two cents in, here.” John raised a finger sternly and pointed at Stiles. 

“You’re seventeen years old, Stiles. I know you’ll be eighteen in only a few months, and you’ve been through things no seventeen year old should have to deal with in their lifetime. But the law says what it says. Especially with me being the Sheriff, I cannot condone any type of physical relationship between the two of you. So please don’t put me in a position where I would need to take action against Derek.”

Stiles nodded vehemently. “I understand. That won’t be a problem. For either of us, I promise.” He looked around shiftily. “We decided it was strictly kissing for right now,” he added under his breath, embarrassed. 

John took a deep breath and let it out in a puff of air. “You happy, kid?” He turned his head and regarded Stiles out of the corner of his eye.

Stiles smiled involuntarily, which was enough for his dad. “I am,” he offered unnecessarily.

Claudia looked like she was going to burst out of her seat at any moment. John rolled his eyes and smiled at her. “Oh, get out of here, woman! I know you’re just waiting to share the news with Talia and Melissa.”

She shot up from her chair and kissed her husband and Stiles quickly and was out the door with her keys in her hand mere seconds later. 

Stiles and John laughed at her antics and stood to clear the table. They talked about the incoming witch threat for a bit before Stiles excused himself to go to his room to call Derek.

“How did it go?” Derek answered without preamble on the first ring.

Stiles grinned. “Were you just waiting by the phone for me to call?”

“…No.”

Stiles heard a “Yes!” from far away on the phone that sounded a lot like Cora’s voice.

It sounded like Derek was moving, so Stiles waited a second until the man spoke again.

“Ok, I’m in my room now. Oh, hold on, your dad just texted me.”

There was a pause while Derek checked the message. His voice sounded strangled when he told Stiles what it was. “Did it not go well? Your dad just sent me a picture of his gun with no caption.”

“DAD!” Stiles yelled through his door to his father down the stairs. 

“It had to be done! He just responded with ‘yes, sir’ so I think he understood the message.” His father’s voice carried back up the stairs into Stiles’ room.

“Sorry about that, Der. It actually went really well. Did you know he’d been betting with Melissa about when we’d finally get together?”

Derek huffed a laugh. They chatted for a few minutes until Derek had to go and relieve Laura from Grady duty.

Stiles changed into his pajamas and flopped into bed contentedly. He quickly fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.


	24. Itty bitty time jump

Once the omegas were cleaned up and settled into rooms on the third floor, the pack was able to relax and look at the facts. They weren’t going to vilify the omegas for wanting a pack, so they agreed to let them stay with supervision on a provisional basis. The three looked so different once they had showered and changed that they were barely recognizable. It was easy to see how scared each of them had been. 

They sat down with the Alphas and willingly gave up any information they had on the witches. None of them mentioned giving the omegas a spot in the pack, but it was understood that if the three of them could prove themselves to be useful allies, their pack status would be considered after the situation with the witches had been resolved.

As it turned out, the Marina coven had given Grady, Keith, and Wallace one month to gather as much information about the Hale pack as they could. The Alphas and Stiles, after their individual emissary-Alpha meetings, decided to spend that month training the pack and gathering intelligence of their own on the coven. 

Derek called Malia and Kira in Seattle to see if they were up for the task, and they jumped at the opportunity to spy on the witches. Since they were relatively new to the pack, Scott had guessed that the coven might not know about the two of them, so they were the obvious choices for recon. Plus, they were excited to try out some new tricks they had picked up while they were away.

Over the next three weeks, the pack bonded even more with each other, and surprisingly, the omegas. Scott and Isaac decided early on to include Grady, Keith, and Wallace in their pack activities, which turned out to be a good idea. Wallace and Isaac had become fast friends, as had Keith and Boyd. Grady was a brilliant, cocky, arrogant asshole but that just seemed to endear him to Cora and Erica. 

Laura had started work at the Sheriff’s station as a deputy. To her initial dismay, the Sheriff strictly enforced the provision banning inter-office relationships, but she got over it quickly. As it turned out, Parrish had apparently known about the supernatural all along, so he and Laura became fast friends. Stiles suspected Laura enjoyed having a friend outside the pack who she could be herself around. 

Stiles and Derek also grew closer every day. The pack all knew about their relationship, and alternated between poking fun at them (Erica, Cora, Laura, and Isaac), not mentioning it too much (John, Scott, Lydia, and Boyd), and making sure the two knew they had the pack’s full support (Claudia, Melissa, and Talia). John had insisted on regular breakfasts with the two families at the Stilinski house, so Sunday morning often found Stiles and Derek dining with their parents.

Dom got along famously with everyone and became a bridge between Peter and the rest of the pack. He dragged Peter to every training session he was scheduled for, and even made sure Peter attended the occasional pack event. Eventually, the pack became less jumpy around Peter, though no one ever really forgot what he had done. He still had a long way to go, but it was a good start. The members of the pack who had been around when Peter was on his rampage were stunned by the difference between Peter without Dom and Peter with Dom, which made it a little easier to believe that he was changing. 

The most shocking development on the Peter front was his strange friendship with Lydia. It was almost as if they had an agreement to never speak about what Peter had done, and to act like nothing had ever happened at all. Stiles certainly noticed an influx of opulent gifts in Lydia’s room, but if that arrangement worked for the two of them, no one was going to touch it.

Lydia and Laura had weekly brunches, during which they would discuss the Peter situation. By the third week, Lydia had managed to get both parties to agree to a dinner. It ended without bloodshed and with a tentative handshake, so the pack counted it as a win. 

Training had been going well; the wolves trained separately from the humans, and the omegas trained on their own, with Derek teaching them. No one wanted the three of them to know everyone else’s fighting strengths and weaknesses. They hadn’t shown any signs of disloyalty, but with a possible fight coming up, the Alphas and Stiles decided that they couldn’t be too careful.

Allison, Chris, and John had proved to be adept teachers in their own areas, and soon the whole pack was at least somewhat proficient with each type of weaponry in the pack’s arsenal. 

Laura and Allison had formed a reluctant alliance after Laura discovered how much she enjoyed archery. The two would often be found on the range before dinner, competing fiercely with one another while practicing with moving targets.

Lydia and Stiles both continued their training with Deaton; Lydia for her scream and Stiles as an emissary. To no one’s surprise, they were surpassing every expectation Deaton set for them. Although with his emissary training, biweekly ‘dates’ with Allison, real dates with Derek, and Sunday breakfasts with the family, Stiles was starting to feel stretched a little thin. And that was without the mountain of schoolwork he had to do.

Boyd, Erica, Isaac, and Pahn started going on double dates once or twice a week, after Erica had determined that Pahn was a worthy boyfriend for her ‘little brother’ (“I’m older than you, Erica…”). 

One day, about two weeks after the Risen had come back to life, Derek and Laura took Cora hiking in the Preserve. It was a hike through one of the more dangerous hills in the woods, and had once been something of a rite of passage in the Hale family. Cora had been too young to complete the hike at the time the fire had happened. They spent the day hiking up the hill so they could watch the sunset from the cliff. 

When they returned, Stiles received a text from Scott asking why Derek had showed up at his house, hugged him tightly, and left without saying a word. Stiles rolled his eyes, reminded the Alpha that Laura was his Risen, and then spent the night holding Derek and running his hands through the man’s hair while Derek shed maybe the first happy tears in his life. 

Throughout the next week, Derek and Laura carved out time in their training schedules to take Isaac, Erica, and Boyd separately for their hikes as well.  


Life continued on in this manner until about a week before the omegas were due to update the witches.

Stiles honked his horn as he reached the driveway of the Hale house, which was unnecessary given that the betas would have likely heard the car coming before he even turned into the Preserve.

Isaac, Cora, Boyd, and Erica ran out of the house to pile into the jeep, clearly in the middle of a conversation.

“I think it’s cute,” Erica offered, throwing her backpack into the trunk and scooting over to make room for Boyd.

Cora rolled her eyes, but didn’t disagree.

“I don’t know if I’d call it cute, but it may not be the worst thing in the world.” Isaac put Cora into a sudden headlock as he spoke and ran to jump in the front seat while she was disoriented. 

Stiles started the car once everyone was situated. “What’s cute?”

Cora sighed and flicked Isaac’s ear from her spot behind him. “Laura and Grady. Erica thinks he has a crush on her.”

Isaac swatted her hand away.

“Hm,” Stiles considered. “I could see that. Does she like him? I thought they hated each other.”

“Yeah, that just means the sex will probably be awesome when they get around to it. You could cut the tension with a knife,” said Cora, who had devolved into full on slap fight with Isaac, who was half turned around in his seat to get a better angle at her.

Stiles shook his head at the betas and they spent the rest of the drive making bets on who would win the fight (Erica won the bet because who doesn’t put their money on Cora when she’s one of the options?).

About halfway through lunch, Stiles’ phone rang. He looked at the name on the screen and frowned. 

“Kira?” Scott’s head shot up at the sound of Stiles’ voice. He pulled out his phone and started texting furiously.

“Hey, Stiles, I’ve got some news. Malia overheard one of the witches talking about the omegas. Apparently the coven is beginning to suspect that they’ve been compromised. They sent one of the witches to Beacon Hills to investigate.”

By the time she finished her sentence, Stiles and Scott had been joined by the betas and Allison.

Stiles nodded even though Kira couldn’t see him. “Ok, do you know when she’ll arrive here?”

Kira paused before answering. “Well, that’s the thing. They said she left a few days ago. But we counted the witches when we first got here, and again last night. None of them are missing. Stiles, I don’t know who they sent.”

Stiles reached inward to find his spark and used his connection to the proximity runes and the Hale house wards to make sure everything was intact. He nodded to himself when each of the wards responded that they hadn’t been triggered or tampered with.

“Ok,” he told Kira. “You and Malia sit tight and we’ll let you know if anything changes on our end.”

Stiles hung up and looked at Scott, confused. “The wards are all fine, but if the witch left a few days ago, she should be here by now.”

Scott nodded. “I texted Derek, and he’s going to sweep the perimeter of the house with Laura, just in case.”

They all settled back into lunch uneasily until Stiles received a call from Laura a few minutes later.

“Stiles,” she barely waited until he had answered to start talking. “You guys have to come to the house right away.”

The betas and Scott, having heard Laura, started packing up. They motioned for Allison to do the same and then the seven of them were off to the parking lot.

“What’s wrong, Laura? Is everything ok?” Stiles unlocked his car so the betas could get in and followed Allison, who was driving Scott, out of the lot.

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. “We found… it’s – it’s a…”

“What, Laura? It’s a what?” Stiles stomped on the gas.

“It’s a child.”


	25. Mama says

The betas, Stiles, Scott, and Allison entered the Hale house to find Laura, Lydia, and Talia whispering frantically to one another in the kitchen, the omegas waiting uncertainly by the doorway to the library, and Derek crouched down in the living room talking quietly to someone who was hidden behind one of the coffee tables.

Stiles and Erica made a beeline for Derek, but he held them at bay with a raised hand. He didn’t take his eyes from whomever he was talking to.

Isaac, Cora, Scott, and Boyd made their way to the kitchen, while Allison went with the omegas upstairs.

Derek shook his head silently and rose to greet Stiles and Erica. “She won’t talk at all, and she’s scared to death. I don’t know what to do, here. She won’t even let Laura or Lydia near her, and she flat out ran away from mom when she tried to get close.”

Isaac scoffed. “So she’s decided you’re the most approachable person in the room?”

Derek glared and folded his arms across his chest, causing his biceps to bulge at him menacingly. 

Stiles hummed thoughtfully and walked slowly over to the other side of the coffee table. Sitting down against the wall with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees was a girl no older than five, with fierce green eyes and dark brown hair that fell in a curtain around her face. Her gaze sharpened as Stiles crept closer.

He stopped a few feet away from the girl and sat down opposite her, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees.

“Hey, sweetie. My name’s Stiles. What’s yours?” He kept his voice at a whisper so he wouldn’t startle her.

Her eyes raked over Stiles thoughtfully, taking her time before responding quietly, “Ana.”

“Ana? That’s a beautiful name.” Her gaze softened a little, but she remained wary in a way that was strange for a girl her age. There was a tear in her tights and it looked like she had a cut on her knee. Stiles pointed at the tear. “You mind if I take a look? I think you may have hurt yourself there. Did you trip in the woods?”

She nodded cautiously, not taking her eyes off of his. Stiles smiled and held up his hands so she could see they were empty. He slowly reached out to her knee and carefully prodded the area around the scrape so he could see the damage more clearly. 

Ana looked like she was about to bolt at any minute, but let Stiles finish his exam. 

Stiles sat back on his heels and looked at Ana grimly. “Well, my dear, I have good news and bad news.”

As soon as Stiles sat back, Ana resumed her position holding her knees to her chest protectively. 

“The good news is, we don’t have to take the leg.” He waited for a chuckle or a smile, but Ana didn’t give him an inch. “The bad news is, we are all out of Disney princess band aids, so you’ll have to make do with the boring tan kind.”

Stiles looked around and nodded at Cora to retrieve a band aid from the pantry. When she approached the two with the band aid and a wet paper towel in hand, Ana cowered away from Cora, her eyes wide with fear. 

Derek stepped in and took them away from Cora, to see if he would have better luck getting them to Stiles. Ana seemed a little less concerned about Derek approaching her, but still didn’t relax until Derek had retreated back behind the coffee table.

Stiles cleaned up the scrape and put the band aid on her knee in silence. 

When that was all taken care of, Stiles asked gently, “What were you doing out in the Preserve by yourself, Ana?”

She tugged on the hem of her dress, which she had been wearing for at least two days, if the dirt smudges on the collar and her cheeks were anything to go by. 

“I’m not ‘posed to tell.” She looked away from Stiles and her eyes scanned the room fearfully.

Stiles cocked his head to the side. “Who told you that?”

“Mama.” Ana slapped her hand to her mouth and her eyes widened in terror.

Stiles looked to Derek, who had situated himself on the far couch. Their eyes met and Stiles could tell they were thinking the same thing. Lydia of course was ten steps ahead of them and already had her phone out, dialing Kira.

Cora and Erica went with Lydia outside, and Boyd, Isaac, and Scott disappeared up the stairs to wait with Allison and the omegas. Talia stayed in the kitchen to oversee Stiles and Ana’s interaction.

“Your mama told you not to tell anyone why you were in the Preserve?” Stiles tried to make his voice as soft as possible, to ensure that he didn’t scare Ana more.

Ana removed her hand from her mouth and looked at Stiles sternly. Stiles was taken aback by how mature some of Ana’s expressions appeared.

When it became clear Ana wasn’t going to talk about her mama, he switched tactics.

Stiles looked around conspiratorially, which piqued Ana’s interest. He leaned forward and stage whispered, “You want to see something cool?”

Ana nodded, intrigued in spite of herself.

Stiles smiled warmly at Ana and turned his gaze to Derek’s feet resting on the coffee table. He chuckled to himself before channeling his spark and using it to untie both of Derek’s shoes.

Derek mock glared at Stiles. Ana let out a giggle and looked at Stiles for a long, considering moment before raising her hand proudly and tying Derek’s shoelaces together. 

Stiles laughed as Derek opened his mouth in false indignation. Ana giggled unabashedly this time, delighting in the reaction her magic had gotten her.

When the giggles died down Stiles took in her somewhat gaunt appearance and asked, “Are you hungry? Miss Talia makes the world’s best mac n’ cheese.” He looked over his shoulder to Talia in the kitchen, who nodded encouragingly.

Ana stared at Talia for a minute before her hunger got the better of her. She nodded and stood up with Stiles. She looked up at him through her eyelashes with a touch of fear still in her eyes. “Are you coming too?” she whispered hopefully.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, of course. Derek will come too if you want?”

Ana let out a sigh of relief and waved towards Derek’s shoes twice so they untied from each other and tied properly. She walked around the coffee table towards Derek and held out her hand expectantly. Her big green eyes looked up at Derek, who was powerless to do anything but stand and take the proffered hand and engulf it in his own. 

Ana led a dumbstruck Derek over to the kitchen table and sat him down next to her. She hopped up onto the chair and swung her legs back and forth while she quietly waited for lunch to be ready.

Stiles poured Ana some apple juice and sat across from her at the table. There was silence until Talia placed a bowl of steaming hot mac n’ cheese in front of Ana, who dug in right away. After the first taste, her eyes went round as saucers. She looked at Talia in wonder and addressed her directly for the first time. “What is this?”

“You’ve never had mac n’ cheese before, darling?” Talia didn’t move from her position at the sink; she didn’t want to scare the girl into not talking again. 

Ana shook her head, resumed swinging her legs under the table, and replied dutifully, “Uh-uh. Porridge for breakfast, salad and fruit for lunch, grilled chicken and veg – veg – uh.”

“Vegetables,” Derek supplied.

She nodded once and continued, “Yup, vege-tables for dinner. No dessert ‘cept for on my birthday, cause dessert’s for good girls only.”

A lock of Ana’s hair fell onto her face while she was talking. She didn’t seem to want to put her forkful of food down, but wasn’t having any luck pushing the hair out of her face with the flat of her hand. She sighed grumpily and went to put down her fork. Before she could, Derek reached over and curled the lock behind her ear gently.

Ana gave Derek a cursory approving nod and resumed eating her lunch.

Stiles felt like he was about to explode from a cuteness overload. If the knowing glances both Talia and Derek were throwing his way were any indication, he wasn’t doing a great job of hiding his feelings.

“I can’t help it,” he whispered under his breath so Ana couldn’t hear. “You’re a smoking hot man being all soft and gentle with quite possibly the most adorable little magic girl I’ve ever met in my life. Can you blame me?”

Derek blushed and ducked his head to hide his smile. Meanwhile, Talia whipped out her phone. Stiles closed his eyes and let his head fall back in resignation. “Tell my mother I said hi, Talia.”

She just smiled in response and continued typing out her message. 

A few minutes later, Ana groaned. She looked up in alarm, hoping no one had heard, and quickly shoveled more food into her mouth. 

“Are you full, Ana?” Derek quirked an eyebrow at her.

Ana shook her head emphatically but pulled another pained face when she gathered up more pasta on her fork.

Stiles looked at Talia, worried. “You don’t have to keep eating if you’re full,” he told Ana.

“Uh-uh. Mama says…” she trailed off and clamped her mouth shut.

Talia approached Ana’s chair and kneeled down so she was eye level with the girl. “What does mama say, sweetheart?”

Ana looked at the three of them uncertainly. She bit her lip, then replied softly, “Mama says it’s wasteful not to finish your plate. She says if you aren’t gonna eat what’s on your plate, you shouldn’t have put so much on it in the first place.”

Talia nodded seriously. “Ok, but I was the one who filled up your bowl. I gave you too much, so it’s ok if you don’t finish it.”

Ana shook her head again. “Oh, no. Mama says if someone else puts food on your plate it’s super dis – disre – disra…” She cut off with a frown and slumped in her seat.

“Disrespectful,” Derek supplied again, sadly.

“Mmhmm, that,” Ana agreed. “To not finish if someone else is feeding you.” She picked up her fork to keep eating.

Derek thought for a second, then perked up slightly. “Hey, Ana?” She turned to him and put her fork down. “Do you mind if I have some of your mac n’ cheese? I haven’t had lunch yet and it looks really good,” Derek said earnestly. 

Ana squinted at him as if trying to figure out if he was tricking her somehow, but relented and passed him the fork and bowl gratefully. 

Derek finished off the bowl and Ana yawned behind her hand. 

Talia cleared the table and addressed Ana. “You tired? We’ve got a spare bedroom upstairs if you want to take a nap.”

Ana looked uncertain, so Stiles stepped in. “I can keep you company if you want. I’ve got some homework to finish, so I can do that while you sleep?”

The girl let out a relieved breath and nodded. She jumped down off of her chair and held out a hand to Stiles. Stiles took it with a smile, grabbed his bag off the counter, and led Ana to the third floor to take a nap while the rest of the pack held a meeting to figure out what to do with her.


	26. Omega POV

GRADY:

Grady and Wallace were taking inventory of the refrigerator and pantry when Derek received the text from Scott telling him there may be a threat nearby. They watched as he grabbed Laura and rushed out of the house. 

With a shrug, Grady continued his inventory, calling off items for Wallace to add to the list. Grocery shopping had become their thing once the pack had found out how good Wallace was at finding the best deals and how incredibly accurate Grady was at sniffing out the freshest produce. Sometimes Erica tagged along because she liked the looks Grady got from their fellow shoppers when he held a cantaloupe up to his nose and took a big sniff.

In fact, one of Grady’s favorite memories since hooking up with the pack was when Laura and Stiles had accompanied them on a grocery run on the first week, and spent the entire trip pelting fruit at his face “to see how well the sniffing super power worked under pressure.”

They finished their list just as Derek and Laura returned with a young girl in tow. Grady sent Wallace to find Talia and retreated into the library to get out of the way. There he found Keith and Lydia studying and speaking quietly. He brought the two up to speed on what was happening and Lydia rushed out of the library to join Talia, who had emerged from upstairs with Wallace only seconds before. The two women spoke in urgent whispers with Laura in the kitchen for a few seconds before the front door flung open to reveal the younger pack members who had no doubt raced home from school early.

“What’s going on?” Grady asked Allison when she approached the three of them outside the library door. 

She shook her head. “No clue, but we should probably get out of the way while they deal with it.”

They followed Allison up the stairs. She placed her hand on Wallace’s head and ruffled his hair as he turned to walk in front of her with a grin, exchanging sarcastic quips with the huntress.

Grady rolled his eyes, but secretly thought it was cute that Allison only did that with Wallace and Isaac. He knew it made Wallace feel more like one of the gang.

The four wandered upstairs into one of the offices to wait and speculate about who the kid was and what she was doing on pack territory, until they were joined by Scott, Isaac, and Boyd. 

KEITH:

Keith loved silence. Loved it. The only thing he liked better than silence was sitting with someone else so they could enjoy silence together. His favorite days were the ones when Lydia or Boyd had a free period and would go to the Hale house during their breaks to sit with him in the library. 

Keith and Boyd spent a lot of their free time together, Boyd studying and Keith reading whatever book he could get his hands on from the Hales or Deaton. The first time Keith brought a book back from Deaton’s, Boyd’s eyes widened with interest and he had told Keith that he should be honored because Deaton never leant his books to anyone. Keith had walked around the rest of the day with a smile on his face. After that, he found himself feeling completely at ease with Boyd around.

So at ease, in fact, that it was Boyd who he finally opened up to about what had happened to his and Wallace’s pack. Most people upon hearing that a person’s pack had been wiped out by the Alpha pack, would offer words of sympathy, or would cry and unintentionally force the bereaved party to console them. Boyd simply nodded and went back to his book, knowing that Keith would talk more about his past when he was ready.

Over the next two weeks, Keith had divulged little tidbits about his past. How he and Wallace only managed to not be murdered with their pack because their parents had insisted they take a month long trip to a werewolf monastery in China. How they had met Grady only a week or so after they had returned to find their pack decimated. How Grady took them under his wing since his own pack had been killed by hunters only months earlier. How the three of them had been wandering around looking for a pack for weeks as omegas, and hadn’t realized they’d unwittingly entered the coven’s territory. 

It was easy to talk to Boyd. Boyd listened.

That said, Keith was secretly glad it was Lydia who was in the library with him that day. He had been recounting part of his tale to Lydia when Laura and Derek found the child in the woods. The fact that the two had been talking was strange in and of itself, but since Keith was becoming less and less terrified of the banshee with each passing day, he found it comforting to have yet another person in the pack he could call a friend.

They had been discussing Keith’s life before he found Grady when Grady himself had come barging into the library. Keith frowned a little when Lydia left to go talk to Talia, but was happy they had even gotten as far as they had in their conversation. 

Allison came in with everyone else from school and Keith somewhat registered the conversation she had with Grady, but was focused on trying to overhear what Stiles and the girl were saying. He heard her say “Ana,” and his mind went into overdrive attempting to access all the parts of his brain that may be able to help him figure out who Ana was.

The next thing he knew, he was upstairs. Shaking his head, he tuned into the conversation just in time to hear the end of it right before the four of them were joined by Boyd, Isaac, and Scott.

Since he had no information to add to the conversation, he did what he did best, and listened.

WALLACE:

Wallace secretly hated grocery shopping, so he wasn’t all that put out when there was a disturbance that forced him to abandon his and Grady’s inventory momentarily. 

Grady had sent him to go get Talia, so he raced up the stairs to Talia’s office and knocked gently. He loved talking to Talia. Sometimes there were nights when both of them had trouble sleeping at the same time, and they would meet up in the kitchen and talk for a while before going back to their rooms. Those were Wallace’s favorite nights. Talia reminded him so much of his mother, and it was nice to have that kind of bond back, even if only temporarily. 

At Talia’s urging, Wallace opened the door and bowed his head respectfully. “Sorry to disturb you, Alpha Talia.”

She smiled at the young man. “Wallace, how many times do I need to tell you that you can call me Talia?”

He smirked back, “At least one more time, Alpha Talia.” He sobered up and continued. “Derek and Laura found something in the woods. It’s a little girl.”

Talia frowned and stood up to follow Wallace back down the stairs. 

Wallace split off towards the library when they reached the bottom of the staircase. A few moments later, he found himself fake dodging Allison’s hair ruffle as they went back up the stairs to get out of the way. 

“You’re lucky I like you,” he told her imperiously. 

“Ha, I think you’ve got that backwards, Wally.” There was an evil glint in her eye and Wallace knew she was thinking back to the other day when Wallace had crashed her knife-throwing lesson, where she’d hit every target dead center.

Wallace shook his head with a laugh and sat on the couch to wonder both who the girl downstairs was and how on earth he had become friends with a hunter. 

About an hour later, when the meeting had concluded, it was decided that the rest of the pack would leave the house for a bit and have a movie night at the loft while Derek, Stiles, and Talia stayed to figure out things with Ana. 

Wallace, Keith, and Grady turned to retreat to their rooms, but were very happy and pleasantly surprised when Lydia called out, “Aren’t you guys coming?”

They looked around at the rest of the pack who were eyeing them expectantly. There was silence for a moment until Grady yelled, “Shotgun!” and took off towards the garage with Erica and Cora hot on his heels.


	27. Keep your ears on

Stiles hadn’t meant to fall asleep while he was doing his homework but the next thing he knew, something was tugging on his sleeve. He sat up, disoriented, and looked around for what had awoken him. His eyes locked with Ana’s and Stiles stood up sharply. He caught a glimpse of a nearby clock and found that only about two hours had passed.

“I hafta go to the bathroom,” Ana whispered.

Stiles’ eyes went wide and he looked around helplessly. “Uh, ok. Do you… do you need help with that?”

She shook her head and bounced up and down anxiously. 

“Oh, good. It’s right over there.” He pointed to the bathroom and started gathering up his things. Ana disappeared for a few minutes and came back out after Stiles heard the distinct sounds of a toilet flushing and a sink turning on and then off again.

She looked at him expectantly from the middle of the room.

Not sure what to do, he simply grabbed his packed bag and held his hand out. She took it and they ventured down the stairs to the main floor. 

Stiles was surprised to find his parents sitting at the kitchen table across from Talia and Derek. His dad was still in his uniform.

Ana pulled him to a stop at the bottom of the staircase and eyed the new arrivals warily. She looked up to Stiles in question and after a confident nod from him, she followed him further into the kitchen. She stopped a few feet away from the table and considered her options carefully. After a few moments of deliberation, she strode confidently over to Derek and held out her arms in the classic “pick me up” gesture.

Derek froze up in panic until Ana cleared her throat pointedly. He leaned forward and hoisted her up so she was sitting on his lap, facing the Stilinski’s. He wrapped one arm around her waist like a seatbelt and let his other hand drop to his leg.

“Aw, she took my seat,” Stiles whispered to Derek as he left to go grab an extra chair. Talia raised one eyebrow and smirked at the pair.

Derek closed his eyes and groaned. “Stiles, you have got to start remembering that my mom can hear everything you whisper,” he admonished at a normal volume.

Claudia giggled, drawing the attention of Ana.

Stiles waved him off with a grin. “Ana, these are my parents. That’s my dad, John Stilinski. He’s the Sheriff of Beacon Hills. And that’s my mom, Claudia Stilinski. She works at the best bookstore in town.” Stiles returned to the table and placed his chair at the head, between Derek and his dad.

John smiled at the girl. “It’s nice to meet you, Ana. Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?”

Ana looked up at Derek, who nodded encouragingly. Stiles saw the proud smile grace Talia’s face before it disappeared when she leaned in to listen.

“Ok, Mister Sheriff.” Ana nodded once and locked eyes with the man.

“Can you tell me your last name?”

Ana shook her head and fiddled with her necklace. “Mama says I’m not ‘posed to tell anyone. ‘Specially not strangers.”

John tilted his head. “That’s very smart. Did your mama tell you what police officers do?”

Ana shook her head again. 

“They help people. My job right now is to find out who you are so that I can find your mama and other people who might be missing you. Can you help me with that?”

Ana frowned in confusion. “I don’t think mama’s missing me.”

John looked around the table and found his confusion reflected on everyone else’s face as well. “Why’s that?”

Ana looked conflicted. “Um. I can’t tell you.”

At this point, Stiles intervened. He pulled blank paper and some colored pencils out of his bag and set them in front of Ana and Derek. “Ana, why don’t you and Derek color for a minute while I talk to my parents and Miss Talia in the next room?”

Ana shrugged and handed the blue colored pencil to Derek. She picked up the green one and started coloring in the bottom of the page.

“Babe, keep your ears on.”

Derek nodded as the rest of the table stood and went into the living room to talk in private. 

Talia sank into the couch by the window. “What do you think, Stiles?”

Stiles, who sat on the edge of the coffee table facing the three adults on the couch, sighed deeply. “I mean, we need all the information we can get on the coven, but I really don’t feel right about asking this little girl to betray her mother. She clearly feels uncomfortable talking about it, and it’s obvious that her mother gave her strict instructions not to say anything about why she’s here.”

Claudia nodded, but added, “I agree. However, I don’t know how much we owe to a mother who planted her child in enemy territory and just left her there.”

“What if that’s part of their plan?” John rubbed his hands over his face wearily. “What if they think they can’t beat you supernaturally, so they try to beat you legally and say you’ve kidnapped the child of one of the coven members? We need to get to the bottom of this, Stiles.”

Talia agreed. “I don’t like it either. Asking this little girl to go against her mother’s wishes does not bring me any joy. But we have to know. And Ana is the only one who can give us the answers we’re looking for.”

Stiles looked down and rubbed his hands together. After a minute, he looked up and locked eyes with his father. “Fine. But if she starts to get upset, we stop.”

The three adults smiled at him knowingly. 

Stiles shrank back. “What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

They rose and started to walk back into the kitchen. 

“No reason,” Claudia responded airily with a wave of her hand. She and Talia exchanged a smile and the four of them sat back down at the table.

Ana had drawn some grass and was working on a red flower. Derek still had the blue colored pencil and was dutifully coloring in the sky at the top of the piece of paper. Stiles snuck a photo of the pair before Derek noticed he was staring. 

John continued his questioning. “Ok, Ana. Laura and Derek found you in the woods. Can you tell me how you got there?”

Ana didn’t look up from her coloring, but responded, “Auntie Alyssa dropped me off. She pointed to a trail and told me to take that and someone would find me.” She stopped coloring momentarily and frowned.

Derek put his colored pencil down and pushed some wayward hair out of her face. “What’s wrong, Ana?”

Still frowning, Ana said, “I didn’t like it in the woods. It was cold and it took you a long time to find me. I fell and hurt my knee.”

Derek rubbed his hand up and down her arm consolingly and whispered an apology while John continued his questioning. “Did Aunt Alyssa tell you it would be Derek who found you?”

Ana leaned back into Derek’s chest and put her colored pencil down, abandoning her artwork. “Uh-uh. She just said it would be a werewolf. She didn’t say anyone’s name.”

John exchanged an uneasy look with Talia before he continued. “And what did she say would happen then?”

Ana fidgeted with her necklace before she answered. “Well, she didn’t really say that part. Just that I had to find a werewolf and that she thought they’d be nice to me.” She smiled up at Derek as she finished her sentence.

Derek’s eyes widened. “You know I’m a werewolf? How?”

Ana rolled her eyes exasperatedly. “I can tell, silly! Miss Talia is, too.” 

John nodded. “Yes, she is. Did your mama tell you about werewolves?”

“Yup. She said you were mean to Auntie Isabelle, but you’d be nice to me. But I don’t like Auntie Isabelle anyway.” She picked up the colored pencil and started coloring again.

“So your Auntie Alyssa told you we would find you and be nice to you. Did she say anything else? Is she going to come pick you up?” John attempted to steer the conversation away from the witch Derek had to kill in the Preserve.

Ana shook her head and sighed. “She just said mama would find me event – eventa –” She looked up at Derek for help.

“Eventually?” Derek’s eyes softened as Ana nodded at him before looking back at John.

“Mmhmm, eventually. What’s that mean?”

John scratched the back of his neck. “Hopefully it means soon. Are you sure you don’t want to tell me your last name? That way, we can call your mama and see when she’s coming to get you.”

“No, she told me not to tell.” Ana finished coloring her flower and held the picture up so Stiles could see it.

Stiles smiled brightly. “That looks great, Ana! Do you want to help me put it up on the fridge?”

She cocked her head to the side in confusion. “The fridge?”

“Yeah! When I was growing up, only the best artwork I made ended up on the fridge,” he told her seriously.

Ana looked up at Derek suspiciously. He smiled softly at her and added, “He’s right. And this is definitely fridge-worthy.”

“Oh, ok.” She nodded and hopped down off of Derek’s lap. She wandered after Stiles, who had found a magnet in one of the drawers. When they reached the refrigerator, Stiles hoisted her up onto his hip so she could reach the top and she placed her artwork up on display with a proud smile on her face.

Stiles deposited Ana on top of one of the counters and she let her legs swing back and forth as she looked around the kitchen curiously. 

“Do you want to keep me company while I make dinner?” Stiles started pulling ingredients out of the pantry as he spoke. 

Ana nodded. “What are you making?”

“Lasagna. Have you ever had it?” He walked over to the sink and filled a cup halfway with water and handed it to Ana. 

She took a grateful sip and shook her head. 

“Well you’re about to. Do you want to wash your hands and be my helper?” He took a hard look at the girl. “Actually, it looks like you could use a bath.”

Talia walked over and stood behind Stiles. “That’s a great idea. Ana, have you ever had a bubble bath?” 

“Uh-uh.” She took another sip of water and looked around apprehensively.

Derek swept in and hoisted himself onto the countertop next to Ana. “Why don’t you go with my mom and have a bubble bath and you can help me and Stiles make cookies after dinner instead?”

“Miss Talia is your mom?” She looked relieved at this new piece of information. 

Derek nodded. “She is.”

“Ok.” She hopped down off the counter, which made Derek nervous. He jumped down quickly to help catch Ana if she fell, but she landed gracefully on her feet. 

Stiles turned around to hide his smile at how protective Derek was being and started preparing dinner. 

Talia held out her hand to Ana and the two walked up the stairs to get Ana cleaned up. Claudia followed with a bag in her hand.

John stepped out onto the porch to call Chris. Between the two of them, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out who Ana’s mother was.

Derek walked over to stand behind Stiles and wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist while he mixed the ingredients for homemade pasta. He kissed Stiles’ temple and went to go set the table with a smile on his face.


	28. Jurassic Park and Trivial Pursuit

Since they had to split into three cars, Grady, Cora, and Erica all got shotgun and there was no bloodshed. Grady filed into a car with Allison, Scott, and Wallace. Grady was still a little skittish around Allison and Chris after what had happened to his pack, but he had softened a little when Allison had promised to look into the incident. 

“So I know you guys said you didn’t know who Ana was, but did you ever hear anything that led you to believe one of the coven members had a child?” Scott piped up from the back seat as he fastened his seatbelt. 

Wallace shook his head. “Nope. I do remember one of them saying something about having to feed ‘her’ once, but I figured she was talking about a pet of some sort. There was no warmth in her at all.”

Grady snorted. “There was no warmth in any of them.”

Wallace nodded in agreement and they finished the short drive in silence. 

The pack piled into Derek’s loft and there was a mad dash for the comfortable seats on the couch and the armchair. Allison claimed the armchair for her and Scott, while Erica, Grady, and Cora all fell into the seats on the couch. Isaac rolled his eyes and nodded for Boyd to follow him up the stairs. 

Lydia, Wallace, and Keith went into the kitchen to make popcorn and get drinks for everyone, while Laura called for some pizza.

“Ooh, pineapple please, Laura,” called Cora.

Erica reached across Grady to give Cora a shove. “Ew, no! Sausage and mushroom, Laura.”

“I’ll get one of each, guys,” Laura called from the kitchen, hoping to placate both betas and prevent a violent wrestling match from destroying the loft.

Thankfully, Boyd and Isaac returned moments later with a mattress with a fitted sheet on it from the guest room upstairs and set it down on the floor next to the couch. Erica whooped loudly when she saw Boyd bringing down the mattress, and abandoned her spot next to Grady in favor of sitting between Boyd’s legs. She leaned back into his chest and his arms wrapped around her waist contentedly.

Isaac motioned for Cora to join them and she ran with a smile over to the three. Isaac laid down with his head propped on a pillow he had stolen from the room upstairs and Cora laid down by him, using his leg as a pillow. Isaac’s hand rested on the top of her head and he played with her hair idly as she and Erica continued to argue under their breaths about pizza toppings. Cora flung her legs over Erica’s and settled in to watch the movie Allison was choosing from Derek’s collection.

Laura grimaced when she came back into the living room to find that the only seats available were on either side of Grady. The betas exchanged wicked grins and watched Laura curiously to see what she would do. With a huff, she settled into the couch cushions, as close to the arm as she could get so she wasn’t touching Grady. Grady smirked and flung his arm over the top of the couch where Laura was sitting, ignoring her warning growl.

Lydia, Wallace, and Keith returned with popcorn and drinks, and deposited them with the rest of the pack while Allison turned on Jurassic Park. Lydia took the remaining spot on the couch and Keith and Wallace settled in to sit on the floor by her legs. 

They had just gotten to the part when Dr. Grant first sees a dinosaur on the island when the pizza arrived. They ate in silence, enraptured by the cinematic masterpiece on the screen before them. By the time the credits were rolling, Laura had closed the gap between herself and Grady, and was leaning into the man. He had let his arm fall onto her shoulder and had his head resting on top of hers. 

Scott, Allison, Laura, Grady, and Wallace opted to watch another movie, and the others decided to wander over to the table by the windows to play a game. After much deliberation, they decided on Trivial Pursuit. 

“I call Keith,” Boyd and Lydia proclaimed at the same time.

Keith blushed and ducked his head.

Erica rolled her eyes. “Neither of you get Keith, that’s not fair. We have to split you three up. I call Boyd.”

“I don’t think so,” chimed in Cora. “You and Boyd are going to be too distracted making out with each other to actually play.”

Erica pouted. “Fine, then I get Keith. If I’m not gonna get to make out with anyone, I at least want to win.”

“If you want to win, you should choose Lydia,” Cora rebutted, linking her arm with the banshee’s. 

Isaac clapped Boyd on the back. “I guess it’s you and me, buddy.”

Boyd just chuckled and went about setting up the game with Keith.

They took their seats at the table and began a game of Trivial Pursuit so loud, the rest of the pack had to abandon their movie and become spectators.

Scott and Allison perched on the windowsill while Wallace pulled up a chair to sit beside Isaac. Laura and Grady both hoisted themselves onto the kitchen island to watch from afar. Grady confidently took Laura’s hand during one particularly loud groan from the group after Keith pulled out a fact from nowhere to take the lead with Erica. Laura sighed in resignation and interlocked their fingers. 

The teams were pretty evenly matched. Cora and Lydia were masters at Entertainment and Science & Nature, Boyd and Isaac didn’t miss a single History or Sports & Leisure question, and Erica and Keith were killing the Geography and Arts & Literature categories. 

Erica and Keith ended up winning the game, which prompted Lydia and Cora to demand an immediate rematch. After she and Cora successfully won the rematch, Lydia let out a huge yawn. 

The betas and Lydia disappeared with the mattress up the stairs to form a puppy pile in the bedroom while Scott and Allison got cozy on the couch. Wallace and Keith took Derek’s old bed while Laura and Grady decided to take a late night walk since they weren’t tired. Cora and Erica crouched at the top of the stairs just long enough to see Laura grab Grady’s hand before they shut the loft door behind them. The two collapsed into a fit of giggles. They disappeared into the guest room, leaving the door slightly ajar so they could still hear what was going on in the rest of the loft if they needed to.

The ones who stayed were nearly all asleep when Keith’s shrill ringtone went off. He groggily padded over to his phone in the living room and tilted his head in confusion when he saw the name flashing on the display. He pressed the phone up to his ear.

“Stiles, what’s wrong?”


	29. Under your skin

“Holy shit.” Stiles’ jaw dropped at the sight before him.

Derek turned around in alarm, only to find Stiles staring at him. “What? What’s wrong?”

“You. You are distracting me.” Stiles pouted and went back to preparing the garlic bread.

“Stiles, I’m setting a table,” Derek replied deadpan.

Stiles flailed his arms helplessly, spraying the cupboard in front of him with the garlic mix. “I know, but you’re wearing your tight jeans today and you were facing away from me. You know how I feel about your booty,” he whined. 

Derek rolled his eyes but smiled at his mate’s dramatics. “It’s ‘booty-ful,’ I know.” He walked over and got a paper towel to wipe off the cupboard. After throwing it away, he grabbed Stiles’ chin and gently tipped the boy’s head towards him so he could kiss the pout away.

Just when the kiss was getting more heated, Derek pulled away. Stiles raised his eyebrows in confusion.

“Your dad’s coming back inside.” Derek grabbed the last of the silverware and went to finish setting the table.

“Not like he hasn’t seen us kissing before,” Stiles muttered under his breath.

The glass door opened and shut as the Sheriff came back from his call with Chris. 

“Anything?” Derek asked.

John shook his head and wandered over to grab a beer from the fridge. “Not yet, but Chris is going to call some of his hunter buddies on his way over. I invited him to dinner, I hope that’s ok?”

“Of course,” Derek replied as he grabbed another plate to add to the table.

Derek and John sat at the table while Stiles finished making dinner, talking about work and how well Laura was doing at the Sheriff’s Station.

Chris arrived shortly after Stiles put the lasagna in the oven. His face was set in a grim frown.

Derek stood to grab the man a beer and returned to the table as Chris dropped into a seat with a weary sigh. He opened the beer and nodded at Derek gratefully. “An old buddy of mine in Nevada might have something. He’s retired from the hunting game, but he had a contact a while back who heard something about the coven leader being pregnant six or so years ago. He didn’t find any records of her giving birth, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t.”

Stiles sat up straight in his seat. “What was the coven leader’s name?”

“Eleanor. Eleanor Marina.”

John nodded. “Makes sense. Grady said they called themselves the Marina Coven. And Wallace said something about overhearing one woman mention an ‘Ellie.’ Could be short for Eleanor.”

Stiles shook his head and huffed.

“Stiles,” John chided, correctly interpreting his son’s reaction. “You can’t get too attached to this little girl.”

“They treat her like shit, dad! She’s never had mac n’ cheese or lasagna before. They don’t put her artwork on the fridge. When we were walking upstairs for her nap, she asked me what I meant when I mentioned Disney princess band-aids. She’s never even seen a Disney movie!” Derek placed his hand on top of Stiles’ to help him calm down.

Stiles looked at Derek earnestly. “Are you telling me Ana hasn’t gotten under your skin, Der?”

Derek just sighed miserably and ran his thumb over Stiles’ knuckles.

John looked at his son sadly. “I know, Stiles. But you know as well as I do that none of what you just said is justification for taking her away from them. She doesn’t show any physical signs of abuse, she’s well-spoken, polite, intelligent. Legally, I have to do everything in my power to get her back to her family.”

“What about how they just left her in the woods, huh? That’s got to be neglect,” Stiles countered indignantly.

John nodded. “I agree with you there, but Ana herself said it wasn’t her mother who did that. We can’t prove that Eleanor knew what Alyssa was going to do. And besides, we can’t very well have Ana testify that her witch aunt brought her to a pack boundary line and told her to walk until she found a werewolf, can we?”

Stiles conceded the point begrudgingly. “I still don’t like it. If even half of the things we’ve learned about this coven are true, they’re bad news. Definitely not fit to be taking care of a little girl. She needs a family who will love her and show her that she shouldn’t be afraid of her magic.” He turned to Derek. “You saw how nervous she was to perform that simple trick on your shoelaces. And the look on her face when we laughed? It’s clear that’s not how people in the coven react to her magic.” He shook his head in anger.

Derek placed his hand on Stiles’ back and ran it up and down soothingly. He leaned in and pressed his forehead to Stiles’ temple and whispered, “I know. I get it. Let’s take this one step at a time, okay? We still need to figure out the coven’s plan. We have a few more days until Grady’s supposed to get in touch with the coven. They’re most likely going to keep Ana here until they find out the omegas aren’t with them. Let’s just focus on getting through the next few days.”

Stiles closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths in and out as Derek spoke. When he finished, Stiles pulled back just enough to look Derek in the eyes. “Ok,” he conceded. “Ok. One step at a time.”

Stiles looked back at Chris and his dad, who had both suddenly become very interested in reading the labels on their beer bottles.

Thankfully they were saved from having to break the silence themselves when it was broken by a shout from the staircase. “Derek! Stiles! Look!”

Ana came rushing down the stairs, hair wet and tangled, dressed in matching Cinderella pajama pants and shirt, holding a phone in her hands triumphantly. 

Some children are very quiet when they walk or run. Not Ana. Ana’s bare feet made a delightful slapping noise on the hardwood as she ran full speed towards the kitchen table.

Stiles looked at his dad helplessly before turning his full attention to Ana. She barely slowed down before barreling onto Stiles’ lap. She nestled herself so she was facing Derek with both legs thrown over Stiles’ own. 

“Look,” she said again, thrusting the phone in Derek’s face. Derek laughed and gently pulled Ana’s arm back a bit so he could get a better look at the picture. When he did, his heart melted.

In it, Claudia and Talia were laughing at each other with bubble beards on their faces. Talia was holding the phone up so you could see the two of them with Ana’s head peeking over the side of the tub. Her hair was covered in bubbles and was thrown over one side of her head like a comb over. She was laughing so hard her eyes were closed.

Derek turned the phone so Stiles could see. Stiles’ eyes watered and he squeezed Ana tightly to his chest, soaking his shirt in the process.

Talia and Claudia appeared at the bottom of the stairs wearing damp clothes and big smiles. 

Derek lowered his voice so only his mother could hear. “Chris has news on the coven. I’ll take Ana into the living room so he can catch you up.”

Talia nodded and reached into the bag Claudia brought to find a hairbrush. She tossed it to Derek, who caught it deftly as he stood up.

“Come on, munchkin. Why don’t we go into the living room and brush the rest of those bubbles out of your hair, huh?” He grinned and hoisted her over his shoulder upside down. She giggled as her hair nearly touched the ground.

He deposited her on the couch and waited until she was done bouncing to sit behind her. She sat patiently while Derek ran the brush through her hair. He kept most of his attention on Ana, but listened as Chris filled in his mother and Claudia on what they had found out.

“We noticed something odd as well,” Claudia offered when Chris was finished. “She wouldn’t let us take off her necklace for the bath. She didn’t throw a fit or anything, she just wouldn’t let us touch it.”

Talia nodded along with Claudia’s words. “We asked her why and all she said was that her mama gave it to her and told her never to take it off.”

There was silence at the table while everyone digested the new information. 

It was Stiles who spoke up first. “Did she say when her mother gave it to her?”

Talia frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Stiles elaborated, “If it’s something she’s been wearing for a while that her mother told her never to take off because it’s precious or expensive, that’s one thing. But if she gave Ana the necklace right before planting her in our territory, then there may be an issue.”

Comprehension dawned on Talia’s face. “It may be a weapon, you mean? Or something the coven could use against the pack?”

Stiles could hear Derek talking to Ana as he brushed her hair, but couldn’t make out the words. Talia translated for the rest of the table once he was finished. “She says her mother gave it to her yesterday.”

Talia’s worry was echoed on everyone else’s’ faces. 

“Ok,” said John. “Let’s eat some dinner and then we’ll see if we can figure out what kind of stones are in her necklace. We can do some research after she’s asleep.” The group nodded and Stiles stood to take the lasagna out of the oven.

Derek was careful to put only a tiny sliver of lasagna onto Ana’s plate when everything was served. She seemed to be ok asking for seconds. 

Over dinner, they learned that the two stones on the outside of the necklace were azurite and the middle stone was clear quartz. Stiles couldn’t recall those specific stones having negative magical effects, but he broke off to call Keith when Ana requested that Derek read her a bedtime story since she was apparently too tired to bake cookies. 

Keith answered on the third ring. “Stiles, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Stiles rushed to pacify the startled omega. “I just need your help with some research…”


	30. Goodnight, Ana

“Keith, can you get Lydia and put me on speaker?” Stiles waited through all the rustling until he heard Lydia’s voice in the background asking what was wrong.

“Hey, Lyds. I need everyone’s help on this one...” 

Stiles hung up after a few minutes on the phone with Keith and Lydia. The rest of the pack at the loft had their instructions, so Stiles got to work on his end. He grabbed his laptop from his bag and went up to the second floor to work in one of the offices. 

He passed one of the bedrooms on his way to his preferred office and had to do a double take when he looked inside. Derek was sitting up against the headboard holding a book. Ana was slumped against him with her head on his chest. Instead of looking at the pictures in the book, her attention was focused completely on Derek’s face. 

As Stiles stood in the doorway and watched, Derek continued to read and even enthusiastically changed his voice and facial expression for each character in the story. When Derek switched to this one particular voice, an old woman who spoke with a high pitch, Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. This caught Ana’s attention.

“Stiles!” She waved for Stiles to join them and looked back at Derek expectantly. 

Stiles scooted in on the other side of Ana and gently pulled the hair back from her face.

When the story was over, Ana yawned. Derek and Stiles got up off the bed and tucked her in on both sides. The room they were in had a king sized bed and it made Ana look very small by comparison. 

Derek pursed his lips in thought. “Hold on a second,” he said as he rushed out the door. He was back a minute later with a tiny plush wolf.

Stiles raised his eyebrow mockingly. “Did you take that from your personal collection, Der?”

Derek glared at Stiles, but turned to Ana with a soft expression. “Miss Claudia got this for you at the store so you could sleep with it. What do you think?”

Ana looked at the stuffed animal thoughtfully. “Is it a wolf or a werewolf?” 

Derek chuckled. “Which would you like it to be?”

“A werewolf,” she responded definitively with a firm nod.

“Well then it’s a werewolf.” He tucked the stuffed animal under the covers next to Ana and turned to walk away. 

“Goodnight, Ana.” Stiles smoothed out the covers and took Derek’s hand as they left the room. 

They heard a muffled “’Night” in return as they closed the door. They left it open a sliver so Derek could hear if anything was wrong during the night.

The two walked hand in hand to the office. They broke off and Stiles made his way around the desk to set up his computer while Derek dropped onto the couch with a groan. 

“I spoke with Keith and Lydia.” Derek was too exhausted to reply properly, but he made an inquisitive noise, so Stiles continued. “Keith and Boyd are going to look into witch lore and see if there are any known instances of witches cursing jewelry in a way that may be harmful to the pack.”

This had Derek’s attention as he sat up on the couch. “That’s a good idea. What about Lydia?”

Stiles looked around shiftily and lowered his voice. “I sent her a few pictures of the necklace that I snuck during dinner. She and Erica are going to try and replicate it the best they can.”

At Derek’s raised eyebrow, Stiles clarified, “I’m not saying this is Plan A, but if it turns out the necklace is dangerous, we’ll have to take the original one from Ana and replace it with a replica.”

Derek frowned at the thought of deceiving Ana like that, but conceded the point for now. “Have you heard from Kira and Malia lately?”

Stiles cleared his throat. “About that. I think we need to assign someone to be their contact in the pack. Last week, three of us called Kira within the same hour and got the exact same update. It’s kind of a mess.”

Derek nodded. “Ok, did you have someone in mind?”

“Well… Peter, actually.” Stiles typed in his computer password with a little more concentration than was strictly necessary, to avoid looking Derek in the face.

There was silence for a few moments before Derek shrugged. “Sure. It might not be a bad idea to give him an assignment and see how it goes. I’m going to put Dom on it too though. I trust him a hell of a lot more than I do Peter.”

Stiles agreed and started his research looking into the stones on Ana’s necklace while Derek pulled out his phone. 

Derek called Peter to fill him and Dom in on the situation. Stiles heard him task Peter with getting in touch with Kira and Malia first thing in the morning to go over everything they had learned on the coven – number of members, hierarchy, weaknesses, possible dissention, etc.

Some time later, Derek’s snores filled the room and Stiles looked up at the clock. Three hours had passed and he’d found nothing. He closed his laptop with a sigh and padded downstairs to the kitchen for some coffee. He found his parents, Chris, and Talia still awake.

Stiles didn’t miss it when Chris shifted the papers on the table to cover a file, but was too tired to push the issue.

“What are you all still doing up?” He got a mug from the cupboard and poured some of the already made coffee from the pot.

“Just working another angle,” his father replied with a dismissive wave. “That’s decaf, by the way.”

Stiles groaned and poured the rest of his mug down the drain. 

“Probably for the best, sweetheart,” his mother added. “Time to head home.”

Stiles opened his mouth to tell them he’d be staying with Derek as his parents stood from the table, but he stopped when Talia cocked her head to the side as if she was listening to something. 

She smiled sweetly. “Yes, Stiles, you must be tired. Why don’t you go say goodnight to Derek and head on home?”

Stiles frowned in confusion, but didn’t argue.

Before heading upstairs to do as she suggested, he filled them in on what he had learned, and on Derek’s conversation with Peter. Talia nodded approvingly and continued to tidy up the table.

Stiles ventured back upstairs quietly and opened the door to the office to find Derek curled around Ana on the couch. He looked so much like a wolf protecting its pup that Stiles just had to take a picture with his phone. The two were fast asleep, with Ana’s arms wrapped around the werewolf stuffed animal just as tightly as Derek’s arms were wrapped around her.

Stiles grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and tucked it around the two of them before heading out with his parents for the night.


	31. The best pillows

Stiles was woken up by a hand shaking his shoulder lightly. There was sunlight streaming through his curtains. Too much sunlight. 

“Good morning, sweetheart,” his mother whispered as she shook him gently a second time. 

Stiles rubbed his eyes sleepily as he sat up. “What time is it?”

Claudia crossed the room and opened the curtains fully. “A little after 9. I called the school already. You’re taking a sick day.”

Stiles chuckled. “I am, huh?”

Claudia beamed and pressed a swift kiss to his cheek. She skipped out the door, calling behind her, “Yup, you are! Now get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast, you don’t want to keep Derek and Ana waiting, do you?”

Stiles stood up quickly and caught his foot on some laundry he had left on the floor, causing him to fall down with a thump. “Derek and Ana are here?” 

He could hear voices downstairs, so he wasted no time in getting dressed and brushing his teeth.

When he entered the kitchen, he was greeted with the sight of his parents and Derek having coffee at the table. Before he could speak, he was nearly knocked backwards by something running full speed into his legs. He looked down to find Ana wrapped around him.

Stiles chuckled and knelt down so they were the same height. “Good morning, cutie!” 

Ana beamed and jumped up and down excitedly. She turned her head away from him. “Stiles, Stiles! Did you see my hair?”

He noticed the French braid plaited down the back of her head and smiled. “It looks great! Who did that for you?”

Ana turned back towards him fully. “Derek did it this morning. We’re going to the park!”

Stiles grinned at Derek, who flushed red and ducked his head to take a sip of coffee. He took Ana’s hand, led her towards the kitchen counter, and hoisted her up so she was sitting on the counter across from the stove.

“We’re going to the park today?” He asked the room.

John picked up the newspaper and flipped it open with a flourish. “Well, your mothers,” he shot Stiles and Derek a look before returning to the paper, “Got together and decided today would be a good day for some pack bonding. So they called you all in sick for the day.”

Stiles bit his lip while he got out the ingredients for pancakes. “Look, I’d love to spend the day at the park, but we have a lot on our plates right now.”

John put the newspaper down. “You’re going to let us handle that for the day. I’ve already called Chris and Dom. The three of us and Peter are going to spend the morning running down a few leads. Grady, Wallace, and Keith are going to help us.”

Stiles didn’t seem convinced, so Derek got out of his seat and walked towards the boy. He placed his hands bracingly on Stiles’ shoulders. “Stiles, look at me.” He waited until Stiles had put down the whisk and had raised his eyes to meet Derek’s. “We can afford to take a few hours for ourselves.”

Stiles nodded begrudgingly. “Fine,” he lowered his voice, “But we’re going to talk about the fact that you know how to braid hair later.”

Derek chuckled and planted a kiss on Stiles’ forehead. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed some fresh green grapes. After washing them, he brought the bunch over to Ana and jumped up onto the counter next to her. They ate their grapes in silence while they watched Stiles finish making pancakes. 

After breakfast, Stiles and Derek got Ana situated in the car with themselves and Claudia and headed off to the park. 

Scott, Allison, Lydia, Laura, and the betas were all there when they arrived.

Allison, Isaac, and Laura were hanging upside down from the monkey bars, Cora was pushing Erica leisurely on the swings, Boyd and Scott were wrestling in the sandbox, and Lydia was sitting on one of the swings with her legs crossed, smiling while she watched everyone goof off. 

Derek took Ana’s hand as they approached the pack. Boyd and Scott stopped wrestling and Allison jumped down from the monkey bars.

Ana stopped when they were about 15 feet away from the swing set and hid behind Derek’s legs. She peeked out cautiously when Allison approached the pair. Claudia and Stiles looked on from the car while they unloaded some supplies they had brought.

Allison stopped a few feet away from Ana and Derek and crouched down. “Hi Ana,” she said softly. “I’ve heard a lot about you. My name’s Allison.”

Ana looked up at Derek. “She’s not a werewolf,” she whispered.

Derek shook his head with a smile. “No, she’s not.”

Ana frowned. “But she’s in your pack?”

He nodded.

“But mama said there’s only werewolves in packs.” Ana eyed Allison suspiciously.

Derek crouched down like Allison so they were all Ana’s height. “That’s not completely true. There can be humans or other supernatural creatures in packs.”

Ana looked back and forth between Derek and Allison. “So how come she’s in your pack?”

Derek smiled at Allison warmly. “Because she’s a friend.”

Ana studied the two for a bit longer before nodding and walking towards Allison. “Derek says you’re his friend, so you’re my friend too.”

Allison beamed at the pair and stood up. “Deal,” she said. She looked at something Claudia was holding in her hands and perked up. “Hey Ana, have you ever built a sandcastle before?”

Ana shook her head and took Allison’s hand when it was offered. The two met Claudia at the sandbox and got to work building a sandcastle with the bucket and shovel Claudia had dug out of the attic. There was a water fountain right next to the sandbox that would be perfect for getting the sand to stick together. 

Cora glanced at Derek, who was watching Ana proudly, and could tell how much the little girl meant to him. She stepped out from behind Erica’s swing and approached the sandbox. After a short exchange, Ana nodded and Cora joined in the sand castle building efforts. 

Stiles heard Isaac issue a challenge to Boyd to see who could climb across the monkey bars upside down using only their legs the fastest. Stiles kissed Derek on the cheek and left to go make a bet with Scott that Boyd would win. Laura agreed with Stiles, leaving Scott alone to cheer on Isaac. Lydia stood up from her swing and got out her phone to take pictures of the race.

“Oh Alpha, my Alpha!” Erica sing-songed from the swing set. 

Derek mock-glared at her as he made his way to the swings. “You rang?” He replied with a grin once he had arrived in front of her.

She smiled mischievously while looking up at him through her lashes. “Can you push me? I want to see if I can go all the way around.”

He smiled warmly at her and walked around the swing, squeezing her shoulder fondly as he passed. He took his place behind her and began pushing while watching over the rest of the pack from his new vantage point.

Erica seemed content with the slower pace for now. “Where’s Talia?”

“She said she’d be by a little later. She has a surprise for us apparently,” Derek replied, increasing the pace of his pushing. 

Once Boyd had destroyed Isaac in their monkey bars race, the four boys formed a wide circle around Erica, who was swinging higher and higher with each push from Derek. 

Laura joined Cora and Claudia with Ana, while Lydia wandered back from taking pictures at the sandbox to get a video of Erica trying to swing all the way around the swing set.

With one final push, Derek jumped out of the way and Erica let out a whoop of joy as her swing finally made it all the way around. She jumped off the swing into Boyd’s waiting arms with a huge grin on her face. “Thanks, Der!” 

Ana abandoned her sand castle and ran over to Derek. “Me next, me next!” She lifted her arms and Derek picked her up easily, turning her slightly so she rested on his hip.

“Not this time, munchkin.” He placed a brief kiss on the top of her head.

Ana pouted, but perked up when she caught sight of a large wolf padding towards them. She gripped Derek’s shoulders tightly.

Derek’s eyes went wide at the sight. “Mom?”

The wolf yipped happily and ran towards Laura and Cora. The two took turns hugging their mother, then joined her when she approached Derek and Ana.

Ana looked at Derek curiously. “That’s Miss Talia?”

Derek nodded, still in awe. “Yeah, it is. Some werewolves can achieve what we call a full shift.” He turned his attention to Laura and Cora. “Did you two know about this? I mean, I knew she could do this before, but I thought… I don’t know what I thought.” He shook his head in wonder. 

“It happened last night,” Laura offered. “She hadn’t been able to since she was Risen, but suddenly she found that she could.”

“She wanted it to be a surprise,” Cora said around a smile. 

Ana wiggled until Derek let her down and made her way towards Talia. She looked up at Stiles for reassurance, and then reached out to touch Talia’s fur after a nod from him. Talia bumped Ana’s nose with her own, eliciting a startled squeak and a giggle from the girl. 

After that, everyone split off into groups at the sandbox, the swing set, and the monkey bars. Ana stayed with Derek and Stiles as they made the rounds from place to place. The sound of laughter erupted loudly and often.

A little while later, the pack found a grassy patch to spread out the lunch Claudia had packed for everyone. Well-fed and happy, Stiles looked around from his position laying down with his head on Derek’s thigh to see that Ana had fallen asleep with Talia wrapped around her, still in her wolf form. 

Stiles couldn’t blame the little girl; Hale’s made the best pillows.


	32. Archery lessons

On the day before the full moon, Stiles and the Alphas met with the omegas to talk about what Grady was going to say to the coven.

Grady sat down between Wallace and Keith on a couch facing the others. Scott and Stiles were sitting in a loveseat while Derek sat in an armchair next to them. Talia stood to Derek’s right with her hand resting on the back of his chair.

“Before we start, I just wanted to thank you all for being so good to the three of us,” Grady said. “You had no reason to trust us, but you gave us food and shelter and were never anything but friendly towards us. So thank you for that.”

Talia nodded in response before she officially began the meeting. “We need to talk about what you are going to say this afternoon when you call the coven.” She looked at Derek to elaborate.

“They will likely ask you about the mental and physical state of our pack, as well as how many of us there are.”

The three omegas nodded. “We’ll tell them whatever you’d like,” Wallace offered. “Like Grady said, you’ve been good to us these past few weeks.” 

Wallace looked at the ground as he continued. “But more than that, you’ve become friends of ours. I think I speak for Grady and Keith as well when I say that we wouldn’t ever want to do anything that would hurt you guys.” Keith nodded along with Wallace’s words.

At this point, Scott interjected. “You do understand that if the witches attack us and we lose, they will likely kill you for giving them false information, don’t you?” 

Keith looked Scott directly in the eye when he responded. “Yes, we understand that.”

Grady smirked. “We also don’t think there’s a chance in hell you’ll lose. We may not have been training with you, but we’ve gotten to know you enough to realize how incredible your pack really is. It would be an honor to join you.”

Stiles bit his lip before speaking up for the first time since they’d all sat down. “That’s what you want, right? To join our pack?”

The omegas nodded again and looked towards Talia, who had just opened her mouth to speak.

“That has been the understanding since our initial meeting a few days after we came across the three of you in the woods.” Talia took a deep breath and looked at Scott and Derek. The two exchanged a glance, then nodded at Talia.

Talia stood up to her full height as she turned towards the omegas. “Very well. Should you help us in this task, and should we be victorious in the event that the coven attack us, we will officially extend an offer to you three to join our pack.”

The three omegas beamed and exchanged relieved glances. Grady sat up straighter and looked at the Alphas and Stiles sitting across from him. “So, what exactly would you like for us to say?”

The meeting lasted about an hour after that, until it was nearly noon. The omegas had their marching orders, and left to go meet Cora, Isaac, Pahn, Boyd, and Erica for lunch before their call this afternoon. 

Stiles stood with a stretch and looked around at Derek. “Where’s Ana?”

Derek pulled Stiles towards him until the boy was sitting on the arm of his chair. He hooked his arm around Stiles’ waist and leaned in to put his head on against his shoulder. “She’s outside at the archery field with Allison and Laura. They’re teaching her to shoot.”

Stiles shot out of his seat in panic, disorienting the werewolf who had been leaning on him. “She’s WHAT?”

Derek chucked before reassuring Stiles. “It’s ok, Chris found Allison’s archery equipment from when she was Ana’s age. She’s using a beginner bow and rubber arrows. She’ll be fine.”

Stiles looked nervously towards the glass windows as if he could see around the corner of the house to the archery field. All he could see was Scott, who had jumped up from his seat at the mention of Allison’s name.

Talia wandered over to the kitchen to start preparing lunch while the two continued to bicker about Ana’s safety. 

Finally, Derek sighed in defeat. “Fine. Do you want to go out to the archery field so you can watch and make sure Ana doesn’t get hurt?”

“Yes, I do,” Stiles replied haughtily. 

Derek laughed and took Stiles’ hand as they walked out of the house together. They passed the storage shed and approached the archery field at a pace that would have been a little slower if it had been set by Derek.

What they found was Scott chasing Laura around the targets while Allison and Ana looked on and laughed. 

Stiles frowned in confusion. “What’s going on?”

Allison looked over at the two and replied, “Laura told Ana that if she could hit me in the butt with an arrow while I was changing out the targets, she’d get a cookie after dinner tonight.”

Derek snorted, but covered his hand with his face to hide the sound. 

“Oh, great!” Stiles yelled in the direction of a sprinting Laura. “Teach the little girl to abuse weapons, why don’t you!”

“Don’t worry,” Allison appeased him. “She politely declined. Said it would have been rude.” She held out a hand for a high five, which Ana delightedly gave her.

Stiles scooped up the giggling child and spun her around. “You did? Good girl.”

He passed her off to Derek, who tossed her into the air much higher than Stiles ever could with his non-werewolf strength, before setting her on his shoulders so he could bring her inside for lunch. 

Stiles could hear Ana’s voice as the two walked back through the training area to the house, excitedly telling Derek all about her archery lesson.

Scott caught Laura eventually and Allison and Stiles settled on the grass to watch the two wrestle for a while. Scott’s Alpha status made him stronger than Laura, but Laura had the advantage of years and years of training that resulted in the match ending at a tie.

Laura launched herself onto Stiles’ back as they made their way to the house for lunch, insisting she was much too tired from her morning teaching Ana to walk herself.

The four of them walked back into the house to find Derek frowning at his phone. 

“What’s wrong?” Stiles asked as he shrugged Laura off by the kitchen table. She swooped over to Ana and proceeded to tickle the little girl relentlessly. The resultant squeals of laughter caused Stiles to almost miss Derek’s answer.

“Lydia texted me. She said she’s on her way to the house with Peter and Dom.”

Stiles nodded. “A frightening sentence on its own. Did she say what they wanted?” He lowered his voice so Ana couldn’t hear him. “Did they figure something out about the necklace?”

Derek shrugged and pocketed his phone. “I guess we’ll find out when they get here.”

The group ate their lunch through their laughter as Ana excitedly recounted her morning learning archery. By the time Lydia arrived with Peter and Dom, Stiles’ face hurt from smiling.

Laura and Allison brought Ana into the kitchen to make some cookies – Ana’s reward for not sinking to Laura’s level on the archery field – while everyone else filed into the living room to talk. 

“I’ve got a replacement necklace,” Lydia began without preamble. “It’s virtually identical to the one Ana’s wearing, so she won’t be able to tell the difference.” She handed the box containing the necklace to Derek and looked to Peter expectantly.

Peter nodded at Lydia and addresses the rest of the pack. “I’ve instructed Malia and Kira to leave Nevada.”

At this, Derek, Stiles, and Scott all began talking over one another. They continued for several seconds until Talia held up her hand to silence them.

“Why is that?” She asked Peter calmly.

“There were simply too many variables they couldn’t explain. Malia came upon a new smell in the woods last night, Kira felt as though the two of them had been being watched the last few days, there was a coven member unaccounted for at their daily meeting this morning. Couple that with any suspicion on the coven’s part that may come from Grady’s phone call this afternoon… it was simply too dangerous for them to continue to watch the coven from such a close vantage point.”

Laura came into view in the living room, clapping her hands together to rid them of flour. “He makes a good point,” she said begrudgingly. 

Peter seemed taken aback by her support, but quickly schooled his expression back to neutral. Dom snorted under his breath and rolled his eyes at Peter, but said nothing. 

“Fair enough,” said Stiles. “Where did you tell them to go? Here, or back to Seattle?”

Peter cleared his throat. “Neither. They’re going to stay on the border. There’s only one main road through the border that will get them from where they are to Beacon Hills without taking back roads. If they take the main road, Malia and Kira will see them and be able to give us a head’s up that they’re coming before they even get close to the proximity wards.”

Derek sighed. “Ok. Thanks, Peter.”

Peter smirked at him. “You see, dear nephew, I still have some good ideas.” He winked and Dom hit him over the head fondly.

“He agreed with you, babe, no need to antagonize him.”

Suddenly a scream rang out from the kitchen. Scott and Derek were the first to run in and try to find its source.

Laura was on the ground holding her hand to her chest protectively. Ana was sitting on the counter wailing, and Allison was standing off to the side by the fridge, looking back and forth between the two, completely dumbfounded.

Derek swept Ana off the counter into his arms, cradling her head as she wept into his shoulder. Stiles stood behind him, running his hand over Ana’s head soothingly.

Peter helped Laura to her feet. “What the hell happened in here?”

Scott, who had raced directly to Allison, followed up with, “Is anybody hurt?”

Laura shook out her hand and inspected it carefully. “No, I don’t think so. How’s Ana? She got some flour on her necklace and I’d convinced her to let me take it off to wash it. I figured it would be a pretty good opportunity for us to switch it out, but the damn thing shocked me! Knocked me flat on my ass.”

Stiles lowered his voice and tried to get Ana to take her head away from Derek’s shoulder long enough to look at him. “Ana? Sweetie, are you hurt?”

She didn’t move her head, but Stiles was able to make out a muffled, “No.”

Derek kissed the top of Ana’s head. “Did it scare you, munchkin?”

She nodded and sniffled before burying her head back in his shoulder.

Scott and Allison got to work cleaning up the cookie dough that had spilled out onto the floor when the bowl fell off the counter during the commotion. Peter and Dom left with Lydia, and Talia went to update Chris and the Sheriff after confirming that Laura was alright.

Ana refused to let go of Derek, so he sat on the couch with her on his lap while Stiles put on a movie. Ana still hadn’t seen any Disney movies, so Stiles chose to start her movie education with Pocahontas. 

The group who had been at lunch returned shortly after Scott and Allison had left to pick up Melissa from her shift at the hospital. Isaac and Pahn hadn’t returned with them, and had opted to spend the afternoon at the loft.

Boyd, Erica, and Laura took the omegas outside to the training area to burn off some energy before Grady had to make his call, while Cora took a seat on Derek’s other side. 

After a few minutes of coaxing, wherein Cora repeatedly tickled Ana’s foot, Ana emerged from Derek’s shoulder and turned around in his lap to face the television.

The movie ended and Cora and Boyd decided to take Ana to the park to get her out of the house for the afternoon. Laura and Erica left to pick up Allison and Lydia so they could go bother Claudia at the bookstore, leaving Stiles and Derek alone with the omegas. 

Grady pulled out his phone and found a number that had been saved in his contacts nearly a month prior. He put the phone on speaker and set it on the table so everyone could hear. 

After two rings, there was a click. A harsh female voice cut through the silence. 

“Grady. I believe you have some information for me?”


	33. I promise

“Grady, I believe you have some information for me?”

Grady cleared his throat. “Ye – yes, I do.”

There was a pause before the voice demanded impatiently, “And?”

Grady looked around to Stiles and Derek nervously. Stiles nodded encouragingly, which prompted Grady to continue. “You’re going to find us a pack, right? I mean, that was the deal. We give you information on the Hale Pack and the coven finds me, Wallace, and Keith a pack?”

“Yes, yes, we’ll find you a pack,” She replied dismissively. “Now tell me what you’ve found out.”

“Well, they’re not much of a pack really. I mean, with three Alphas, they’re fighting all the time. The betas don’t know whose orders to follow, and the human members of the pack are all but useless.”

“Human members? You mean the hunters?”

“Yeah, the Argents. But they’ve got two other humans. One red head and another kid – the local Sheriff’s son. Neither is really formidable.”

Stiles could almost hear the woman nodding on the other side of the line. “Good, good,” she muttered to herself. “And the wolves?”

“The Alphas are strong, but they don’t work well together. There’s a lot of dissension among them. The woman, Talia, she’s not much of a fighter these days. And the young Alpha is bitten, not born. So he doesn’t know much.” With each lie, Grady became more and more confident. 

“And the other Alpha?” She prompted eagerly.

Grady cleared his throat again. “He’s the one you’ve got to watch out for. He’s strong, and we’ve been watching him for weeks without finding a single weakness.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she replied flippantly. “We’ve got a way of taking care of him.”

Stiles’ eyes widened in fear. He waved at Grady to push the subject further. 

“What do you mean?” Grady pressed. 

“Is the girl there?”

“The child? Yes, the pack found her a few days ago. We haven’t gotten close enough to see much, but they’ve got her.” Grady shot a confused look towards Stiles and Derek.

“Then the Alpha won’t be an issue. Move on, tell me about the other wolves,” she instructed tersely.

Grady seemed reluctant, but Derek nodded at him to continue. “There are only three other born wolves. The rest are bitten, and are untrained.”

“Are you telling me they haven’t been training at all?” The woman asked suspiciously.

They were prepared for the question. “The born wolves have. They won’t let the bitten wolves train with them, though. Wallace overheard them say something about how bitten wolves were weaklings and didn’t deserve training.”

The woman laughed derisively. “Excellent. Have you heard any of them speak about Isabelle? Do you know where they put my sister’s body?”

Grady pointed to the phone and mouthed ‘It’s got be Eleanor.’ The others nodded in acknowledgement while Grady continued. “No. But there was quite a commotion shortly after they found the little girl. Apparently they saw her do some magic, so they connected her to the coven.”

“Stupid girl,” spat Eleanor.

Stiles gripped the edge of his seat so tightly his knuckles turned white. Derek’s eyes flashed red before he took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

“Well, they seem to be treating her ok,” Grady offered in an attempt to placate her.

Eleanor ignored him. “What do you know of a kitsune and a werecoyote in their pack?”

Stiles leapt from his seat silently and went outside to call Malia and Kira.

“Nothing,” Grady lied convincingly. “Why?”

“Doesn’t matter,” she dismissed his question quickly. “Now, tell me about their pack house. Is it warded?”

Grady shook his head even though she couldn’t see him. “No. We haven’t been inside because they’d be able to smell us, but there are a lot of windows so we know the layout. But if you attack, won’t it be outside? You’re not going to try to get into a pack house, are you?”

“Why does it matter to you where we attack?” She asked distrustfully. 

“It doesn’t,” Grady interjected quickly. “But if we’re going to help you take the pack down, we need to know where to meet you. And when.”

Wallace and Keith exchanged glances before turning their attention to the phone hopefully.

There was a brief silence before Eleanor replied coldly. “You think we require your assistance to take down a group of mongrels and some useless humans?”

“No! Of course not.”

“It’s not enough that I have to convince several of my coven members to participate in our quest for revenge, but now I have to deal with three hot-headed werewolves who think we can’t avenge our own without their help?” She was screaming at this point. Derek shrank back into the couch due to the volume of Eleanor’s voice.

Grady held up his hands towards the phone. “No, no, that’s not what I meant! We just want to help! You promised us a pack and that’s all we want. We just want to help you.”

Eleanor didn’t respond for nearly a minute. Wallace was worrying at his lip so hard he drew blood. Keith looked like he was going to pass out.

“Very well,” she said. “I am willing to look past your ungratefulness once. I will not be so forgiving a second time.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Grady exhaled in relief but rolled his eyes.

“I will call this number in two day’s time. The day after the full moon. I expect you to answer and be ready.”

She hung up before Grady could respond.

Grady sat back in his chair with a sigh. 

Derek nodded at him. “That was good. We’ll see how much of that the coven believes, but I think we lowered their expectations somewhat. Hopefully they’ll let their guards down a little.”

“And now we have a timeline,” said Keith. “Day after tomorrow.”

Stiles burst in through the front door, out of breath. “I can’t get a hold of Kira or Malia. Neither one of them is answering their phone.”

Derek wasted no time in grabbing his phone, dialing a number and putting the phone on speaker. Before the person who picked up could even get out a greeting, Derek was speaking over them. “Peter, we can’t get in touch with Malia or Kira. We just finished Grady’s call and the witch mentioned a werecoyote and a kitsune.”

There was commotion on the other side of the line. Derek correctly interpreted it as Peter getting up to leave. “Peter, bring backup!”

“I’ll call when I know something,” Peter replied quickly before hanging up.

“We need to call an emergency pack meeting,” said Stiles, already taking out his phone.

Within 15 minutes, the whole pack had piled into the Hale house for an update. 

Claudia and the Sheriff got the short version of events from Stiles, then took Ana upstairs to one of the rooms with a TV in it to watch a movie. Stiles went up with them to make sure she was settled in with her stuffed werewolf (which she had named Isaac, to everyone’s delight), and then rejoined the pack downstairs.

He came in right as Talia was informing the group that Peter had taken Dom and Chris to search for Malia and Kira on the border. 

“They came by the bookstore and picked up Allison and Lydia as well,” supplied Laura. “I told Peter to call me with updates every half hour.”

Stiles took a seat by Derek. “Ok, great. What are we going to do about what Eleanor said? About how they had a way to take down Derek? She implied it had something to do with Ana.” He looked at Derek sadly. He turned his palm up on Derek’s thigh and the man intertwined their fingers.

“Derek, I think you should stay away from Ana,” said Talia. “Just for the time being.”

Derek shook his head. “No.”

Stiles tightened his grip on Derek’s hand. “I know you don’t want to, but I agree with your mom. I think it’s best if you stay away from her, at least until we know more. Just a couple of days until Eleanor calls Grady back.”

Derek took his hand back from Stiles. “But what if they come back and take her away? Am I just supposed to never see her again?”

Talia cleared her throat and turned to the rest of the pack. “Would you all mind giving us some privacy?”

Scott nodded. “Of course. Guys, why don’t we go grab some dinner? It’s been a while since we scared a restaurant with how much Boyd and Isaac can eat.”

The pack and the omegas cleared out, leaving Stiles and Derek alone with Talia.

Talia took a seat on the chair across from the two on the couch. “Stiles, I know you have been suspicious for a few days about what your mother and I have been up to with your father and Chris.”

Stiles nodded and shot Derek a confused look.

“We were just sick thinking about that poor girl staying with the coven. She clearly is not valued there, and the fact that they’re using her as a pawn in their revenge scheme is just deplorable.” Talia’s eyes shined a bright red as she spoke.

“Claudia had a theory that there must be at least one supernatural worker at Child Protective Services who could help us. That would be our best bet since the covens most egregious slights towards Ana involved the supernatural.”

Stiles sat up in his seat and Derek’s eyes filled with hope. 

Talia continued with a smile, her eyes back to their stunning brown color. “Chris was able to find a hunter who knew of a pixie at CPS in Oregon. She in turn was able to find a witch here in California who has agreed to look over Ana’s case.”

“Your father has been putting together a file since we found Ana. The witch, a woman named Emily, has agreed to help us. Apparently, she is outraged by the treatment of Ana by the coven.”

Stiles sprung out of his seat and enveloped Talia in a tight hug. Derek wasn’t far behind, and sandwiched Stiles in his attempt to hug them both.

Talia laughed at her boys as they dislodged from the embrace. “It’s not a done deal. Emily wants to wait until after she talks to Eleanor herself, but won’t do that while the coven is plotting an attack on us. The only way we were able to convince Emily to allow Ana to stay with us in the meantime was to assure her that Ana would be nowhere near the fighting when it happened. We’ve also promised to call her every few hours with updates on Ana’s condition so she knows Ana is safe.”

Talia left to call Emily while Derek went upstairs to say goodbye to Ana. He knocked softly on the door and entered with Stiles at his back. 

Stiles had to excuse himself back out into the hall when the sight he was met with in the room caused him to start laughing uncontrollably. 

Ana was sitting in Claudia’s lap, meticulously placing butterfly clips that Erica had bought her into John’s hair. Mulan played loudly in the background.

“Can you guys give us a minute?” Derek asked around a smile.

John and Claudia stood and followed Stiles into the hall. Derek could hear John reminding Stiles that he, too, went through a butterfly clip phase, which cut off the sound of laughter pretty quickly.

Ana had readjusted herself on the couch since her seat had left with the Sheriff. Derek sat next to her and smoothed her hair down on her head. 

“Hey, munchkin, I have to go away for a couple of days.”

Ana turned her attention from the TV to look up at Derek sadly. Her lip wobbled. “Did I do something wrong?”

Derek’s heart broke as he scooped up the little girl and placed her on his lap. She grabbed his shoulders tightly and rested her head against his shoulder with a miserable sob.

“No. No, sweetheart, you did nothing wrong.” He held Ana for a few more minutes, rocking her back and forth and whispering reassurances into her hair. 

When it came time to go, Derek pulled her back from his shoulder so he could look her in the eyes. “You did nothing wrong, Ana. I’ll be back in two days. And you’re going to be so spoiled by Laura and Cora and Erica that you won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Ana hiccuped and nodded. “You promise? You promise you’ll be back?”

Derek hugged her tightly. “I promise.”

Stiles was waiting by the door when Derek came out. He finished sending a text to Erica asking for a favor and gave Derek his full attention. “My parents insisted you stay with them tonight and tomorrow night.”

Derek just nodded numbly. “Not with you?” 

Stiles shook his head. “I figured you’d want me to stay with Ana if you couldn’t. But you just say the word and I’ll call Laura to stay with her instead.”

“No,” Derek interjected. “You. Please?”

“Of course.” Stiles pulled Derek’s head down and kissed him tenderly. “My parents are waiting downstairs.” Derek nodded again and turned to walk towards the staircase. “Don’t let my dad have steak!” Stiles called towards Derek’s retreating back. He heard a hollow laugh in response and went into the room to console a distressed Ana, who was still wiping her eyes. 

Ana curled into Stiles fiercely when he was seated on the couch and they finished watching Mulan in silence. 

About half an hour later, he received a text from his mother. It was a picture of his dad with a shit eating grin on his face, watching Derek attempt to grill steaks with an Erica-shaped barnacle attached to his back. Even with them being in the background of the picture, Stiles could make out the slight smile on his face. 

Stiles texted a thank you to his mother and another to Erica, and tucked a sleeping Ana into her bed for the night.


	34. Head over heels

The next morning, Stiles ventured down the stairs to find Talia alone in the kitchen drinking coffee. He could absently hear that others were around, but couldn’t see anyone else. 

He checked his phone and found that Scott had texted him to say he was staying with his mom all day at the hospital. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight until after the threat was gone.

Stiles fired off a reply and stepped into the kitchen sleepily. 

“Morning,” Stiles greeted through a yawn. 

Talia smiled at him and stood up to get the lethargic boy a mug of hot coffee. Stiles accepted it with a grateful nod and sat in the seat next to Talia, looking out through the wall of windows to the backyard.

“Where is everyone?” Stiles asked once he was a little more awake.

Talia took a sip before answering. “Your dad’s outside with the betas. He’s giving them a refresher course on shooting, since Chris and Dom are the best shots and they’re both gone for the moment.”

Stiles nodded. “Probably a good idea. Any word from Peter?”

Talia picked up her phone to pull up the text chain she had with Laura. “He called Laura about half an hour ago. They found the place where Malia and Kira were making camp. There were no signs of a struggle, so we’re hoping they just had to leave quickly. Their phones and wallets were still there, which explains why they haven’t been able to get in touch with us. Peter’s tracking them now.” 

“Where is Laura?” Stiles asked, looking around.

“She took Derek on a ride along,” Talia replied as she put her phone back on the table. “We figured he needed the distraction and John says Saturdays are usually pretty quiet at the station.”

“That’s a good call.” Stiles shook his head and let out a frustrated breath when he thought of how Derek must have felt leaving Ana last night. “I know it’s only been a few days, but I love that little girl, Talia. And I know Derek feels the same way.” He ran his hands though his hair as he stood up to refill his coffee.

“Are we doing the right thing?” He asked her from behind the island. “Keeping Derek away from her?”

Talia nodded sadly. “I believe so. It’s only for a short while.”

“I know,” Stiles conceded moodily, slumping back into his chair.

Stiles’ phone dinged and he abandoned his coffee in favor of reading his incoming text. It was from his mother, letting him know that the omegas were with her at the bookstore. He sighed in relief that she wasn’t alone and sent her a quick reply.

He had only just put his phone down when he heard the pitter patter of bare feet flopping down the stairs. Stiles and Talia looked up from their seats and saw Ana padding towards them, rubbing her eye sleepily with one hand and dragging her little stuffed Isaac behind her with the other. 

She approached the two as if she was sleepwalking and stopped only to silently demand that Stiles pick her up. He settled Ana on his lap and she quickly fell back asleep with her head on his chest.

Stiles closed his eyes momentarily and when he opened them, found Talia staring at him with warmth in her eyes. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” He couldn’t help but smile at how familiar the motherly stare was to him.

“Oh, nothing.” Talia’s eyes turned sad before she continued more quietly. “Derek used to curl up like that with his father in the mornings.”

This piece of news delighted Stiles. “You mean Derek wasn’t born a morning person? I’ve always kind of seen him as the type of guy who had a unilateral competition with the sun to see who could rise first every day.”

Talia chuckled. “No, not at all. His father was a morning person. My Robert, he used to choose the comfiest chair we had in the house every morning to take his coffee. He knew Derek would inevitably fall asleep on his lap for at least half an hour each morning before he was really ready to wake up. Robert told me once that it was his favorite part of the day – that time he got to spend with Derek.”

Stiles smiled down at Ana and used his free hand to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. He looked back up at Talia sadly. “I’m sorry we couldn’t bring him back,” he whispered.

Talia reached over to grasp the hand that wasn’t hold Ana upright. “Oh no, my dear. You have given me more than I could ever imagine. And you have brought him back, in a way. I still see him every day.” She released Stiles and leaned back in her chair with her hands wrapped around her warm coffee mug. 

Stiles quirked his eyebrow in question.

“I see him in Derek and the way he looks at you when he thinks no one else is paying attention. It’s the way Robert used to look at me.” Stiles bit his lip and blushed furiously.

“I see him in Cora and the way she likes to bend the rules without breaking them. She is wholly her own person, and she gets that ferocity from her father.” Talia stares out the window, lost in thought.

“I see him in Laura and the way she takes care of the other betas. She is a natural leader, and they can’t help but follow her because they can’t help but love her. It was the same with Robert and our betas.”

It was comfortably quiet for a while before Stiles asked, “Was Robert a beta?”

Talia shook her head softly. “He was human. But he had this way about him, this confidence and charisma, that caused even Peter to follow him without a second thought. He had been my second for nearly twenty years before the fire took us.”

The rest of the morning passed slowly and quietly after that. Ana slept for another fifteen minutes before Stiles rose to start making breakfast for her and the betas who hadn’t eaten yet. The Sheriff left for his shift and promised to call Stiles with any updates Laura got from Peter throughout the day.

Talia took Ana up for a bath after breakfast, leaving Stiles alone with the betas. 

Stiles turned his attention to Erica and Boyd. “How are you guys feeling? Tonight’s your first full moon since you were Risen.”

The two just looked at each other and shrugged indifferently. “I feel pretty good,” answered Erica.

Boyd nodded in agreement. “It feels different this time. Like we’re more centered.”

“I know what you mean,” Isaac interjected. “It’s like the full moon isn’t something we have to get through anymore. It feels like something we’re going to enjoy,” he finished through an excited grin. 

Cora smiled and thumped Isaac on the back. “That’s what it feels like to be in a strong pack. This is how it’s supposed to feel.” She hit his shoulder blade once more, harder than was necessary. He growled at her playfully and proceeded to chase her around the first floor while she evaded him through her laughter.

Boyd gave Erica a chaste kiss. “I’m going to meet up with Keith and them at the bookstore, I’ll be back after lunch.”

Erica grinned and pulled him back for a much longer, filthier kiss. 

Stiles groaned. “Ok, gross. You’re like my sister, why do you have to do those things in front of me. I’m standing right here!”

“Does that mean I can tell you to stop kissing my brother in front of me?” Cora called as she whizzed past the front door with Isaac hot on her heels.

“No one’s talking to you, Cora!” Stiles called back, still glaring at Erica.

Isaac decided to tag along with Boyd, abandoning his pursuit of Cora. The two of them left shortly after, leaving Stiles alone with Cora and Erica.

The two women exchanged predatory grins and guided Stiles towards one of the couches. They sat him down and lowered themselves onto the coffee table across from him, so close their knees were touching his.

“So,” Cora began.

“So? So what?” Stiles felt a sudden urge to run, but he knew it would be futile. 

“So Derek.” Erica raised her eyebrows expectantly. 

Stiles attempted to stand, but was unceremoniously stopped by the two betas, who pushed him back onto the cushions.

“I’m not talking to you two about my relationship with Derek,” Stiles tried. He crossed his arms across his chest with finality and avoided eye contact.

Cora leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “Stiles, you’ve been dating for a month.”

“You were pining after him for countless months before that,” Erica chimed in.

“And you’re practically raising the adorable little witch girl with him,” finished Cora.

Stiles sputtered indignantly. “Ok first of all, did you two practice that? Secondly, I was NOT pining. And thirdly, we are not ‘raising’ anyone. It’s only been a few days, we’re just looking after her.”

Cora and Erica simply leaned back and waited, leveling Stiles with eerily identical stares. 

He looked between the two for a few moments before breaking. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

The girls giggled delightedly. 

“We really just want to know that you’re serious about him,” said Cora. 

“You of all people know what he’s been through.”

Erica nodded at Cora. “And while we truly believe you two are a perfect match, we need to look out for our Alpha.”

Stiles raised his chin in a huff. “What about looking out for your emissary?”

Cora dismissed him with a wave, “Oh don’t worry, we had this same talk with Derek last night.”

Stiles slumped. “Oh. And what did he say?”

Erica rolled her eyes. “He’s head over heels for you, what else is new?”

Stiles blushed and couldn’t contain his toothy grin.

“Ew,” said Cora, standing up. “Ok, Erica, our work here is done.”

Erica tried to sneer at Stiles’ reaction, but couldn’t help but smile. She stood with Cora. “Yeah, they’re both really gone on each other, aren’t they?”

The two ventured out towards the training area to spar, and Stiles pulled out his phone to call his boyfriend.

He picked up on the first ring as usual. “Hey.”

“Hey, Policewolf. You thinking of joining the force?” Stiles leaned back to lay down fully on the couch.

Derek hummed. “No, this really isn’t for me. It’s definitely for Laura though, she’s amazing.”

Stiles could hear Laura laughing happily in the background. “How did you sleep last night, Der?”

“Not well,” he said with a sigh. “Having Erica there helped. You?”

Stiles coughed and tried to change the subject. “Hey, don’t let my dad take you and Laura to the diner for lunch. He’s already in the doghouse for the steaks last night.”

Derek wasn’t as easily distracted as Scott. “Stiles. Talk to me. You had another nightmare, didn’t you?” Stiles could hear the sound of a car door open then shut. It sounded like Derek was talking a walk so they could have some privacy. 

Derek waited patiently for Stiles to answer. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I did.” Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose and sat up on the couch. “I don’t know what’s wrong. I haven’t had one in over a week, and then suddenly I’m waking up in a cold sweat, screaming my head off. I’m lucky the rooms are sound-proofed or else the whole pack would have run in.”

“Were you able to get back to sleep? You should have called me.” Derek’s voice was soft and understanding. Stiles knew they had an agreement to call each other when their nightmares kept them up, but he just couldn’t do it last night.

“I know. It was ok, though, I fell asleep pretty quickly after it woke me up this time. I raided your closet and put on one of those sweaters I make fun of you for having.”

Derek chuckled. “The ones with the thumb holes?”

“Yeah. It worked pretty well. I may have to sleep in your clothes more often.”

“Oh, really?” Derek’s playful voice was back, and it was one of Stiles’ favorite things in the world. 

“Yup! And those things are so comfortable, you may never be rid of me.”

Derek groaned. “Laura’s calling me back, we’ve got a noise complaint to attend to.”

“Ok, you go protect the law-abiding citizens from loud noises, I’m gonna go check the wards around the house.”

They hung up and Stiles did a sweep of the perimeter to find the wards in perfect condition. He checked the pantry and made a list of items the pack needed for their full moon dinner. Laura said it was a big deal in the Hale pack before the fire, so Stiles wanted to make their first full moon dinner together a big success.

He swung by the bookstore to pick up Grady – someone had to carry the bags – and he and Stiles proceeded to buy out most of the store.

While they were unloading the groceries, Stiles got a call from Lydia. 

“We found them,” she declared without preamble. 

“Are they ok?” Stiles put down the bags he had been carrying and sat on one of the bar stools behind the island.

“They’re fine,” Lydia replied. “Peter is calling Laura now with a full update, but I wanted to let you know.”

Stiles breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Lyds. Are you guys on your way back now?” 

“No, we won’t make it before the full moon run tonight, so we’re going to find somewhere to stay for the night. Malia and Kira are already on their way back to Seattle though. Peter figured it would be safer for them.”

Stiles nodded. “That’s a good idea. Thanks for the update. Let me know when you guys get on the road in the morning.”

They hung up and Stiles texted Scott so he was up to speed.

Talia came down the stairs with a squeaky clean Ana, and Stiles thought for a fleeting moment that maybe everything would be ok.


	35. The full moon

Talia, Grady, and Stiles spent the rest of the day preparing the full moon dinner while Ana sat on the island counter and taste tested the food to make sure it was all up to par for the feast.

Stiles called his mother just before the pack was due to arrive from their various locations, to make sure she was still all set to come pick up Ana for dinner and look after her for the evening while the wolves were running. They had decided the best plan was for Ana to go with Claudia and John while Derek ate and ran with the pack.

“Ana?” Stiles waited until he had the girl’s attention.

She looked up from the bowl Talia had given her to stir. It contained a single egg that nobody actually needed for the meal.

“How do you feel about hanging out with Miss Claudia and Mister Sheriff for dinner?”

Ana perked up and smiled. She nodded and swung her legs against the cabinets below her and excitedly turned her attention back to stirring the contents of her bowl.

Claudia came to pick her up just as the rest of the pack was arriving at the Hale house.

“Hi, Miss Claudia!” Ana waved at her enthusiastically from her perch on the counter. 

Claudia swept over to the counter and gave the giggling girl a bear hug. “Are you helping my boy cook?” She peered into the bowl Ana was still stirring.

Ana tipped her bowl slightly to show Claudia her hard work. “Uh huh. And Miss Talia gave me a bath this morning! We did bubble beards without you.”

Claudia nodded solemnly. “That’s ok, there’s always next time.”

Ana smiled and handed her stirred egg bowl to Stiles. He tweaked her nose. 

“Thank you, sweetie.” He locked eyes with his mother and nodded. 

Claudia helped Ana get down from the counter and grabbed her bag and her stuffed werewolf. 

Stiles waited until she was gone to call Derek.

Derek arrived with Laura and greeted Stiles with a melancholy, bone-crushing hug. 

The betas set the table while Derek pulled Stiles into the living room to talk before dinner. 

“How’s she doing?”

Stiles rubbed his hand up and down Derek’s arm consolingly. “She’s fine, Der. She’s with my parents and Melissa. They’re going to bring her back after the run.”

Derek frowned, confused. “Why doesn’t she just stay with your parents?”

“The CPS worker, Emily, made your mom promise that Ana would be spending her nights under the protection of the Hale house. So she’ll probably fall asleep at my place, and hopefully won’t wake up when they bring her back here.” 

Derek nodded. “Ok, I’ll head out after we finish running, then,” he conceded sadly.

Stiles tilted his head up and placed a sweet, soft kiss on Derek’s lips. Their eyes met and Stiles couldn’t help but pull Derek into another hug. 

They rejoined the others for dinner and in no time, they were swept up in the excitement of their first official full moon dinner.

Talia had extended a dinner invitation to Grady, Wallace, and Keith, which they’d gratefully accepted. They decided to run on their own in another part of the Preserve, however. They didn’t want to intrude on the pack run until they were officially part of the pack. They planned to meet up with everyone back at the Hale house after their respective runs were completed.

Stiles was thrilled to see how relaxed and loose the pack was during dinner. The full moon was clearly having a positive effect on everyone’s moods, even Derek’s. 

When it came time for the wolves to run, the omegas took off to the South. Derek swooped Stiles up and spun him around, kissing him fiercely when they came to a stop. Stiles laughed at his wolf and sent him on his way with the rest of his pack, who had already taken off running to the North. 

It was quiet in the house with everyone gone. Stiles decided to cheat and use magic to help him clear the table and do the dishes, if only to give him something to occupy his mind.

The downside of cheating was that it was over frustratingly fast, leaving Stiles to do nothing but wait until his wolves returned. 

He flipped through the TV, ate some leftovers even though he was full, added a new ward to the house, and called his dad to see how Ana was doing so often he threatened to block Stiles’ number. 

And it was still only 10:30pm.

It was a beautiful night, so Stiles decided to turn on the perimeter lights and sit out on the front porch with a book he had to read for is AP English Literature class. He ended up getting lost in the book and was surprised to find that over an hour had passed when he finally heard the howls of his pack getting closer. 

He texted his mom to let her know the pack was almost back so she could bring Ana to the Hale house.

About fifteen minutes later, Stiles saw the first pair of golden eyes through the trees, followed closely by and second, then a third and fourth. The betas were racing back, and Stiles had a feeling he was the finish line. 

His hunch was proven correct when Cora leapt onto his lap, declaring loudly, “I won!”

She hopped down off of Stiles and took a smug victory lap around Isaac, Erica, and Boyd. Isaac shrugged while Erica pouted. 

“It’s ok, Erica,” said Isaac. “She may be faster, but everyone knows you’re a better shot.”

Cora pounced on Isaac and the two wrestled on the grass while Boyd kissed Erica’s pout away.

The omegas came back right around the same time as the Alphas and Laura. Talia was in her beta form, but as soon as she saw that her pack was accounted for, she transformed into her wolf form and took off into the woods to run unencumbered for a while. 

Derek, with his eyes still shining red, scooped Stiles up out of his chair and threw the boy over his shoulder like a caveman. From his upside down vantage point, Stiles could see Erica roll her eyes while Laura ran over to tackle Grady. 

Derek walked Stiles to the backyard and put him down, only to pin him against the wall of the storage shed. 

“I’m having flashbacks. What is it with you pinning me against the wall?” Stiles tried to joke to hide the fact that he was totally loving this new, non-verbal version of Derek.

Derek grunted and picked Stiles up again, so the boy had no choice but to wrap his legs around Derek’s waist. Stiles had just gotten a hand into Derek’s hair when a shrill shriek sounded from the front yard. 

“Ana,” Derek growled as he released Stiles. 

“Derek, no!” Stiles shouted at Derek’s retreating back as he took of after the wolf.

Stiles rounded the house just in time to see Derek rip a crying Ana out of John’s arms. She wailed and clung to Derek’s shoulders. Derek flashed his eyes at John and growled, “What happened?”

John held out a placating hand towards Derek. “Son, you need to calm down.”

Derek locked eyes with Stiles and took a deep breath. He looked down at Ana still crying in his arms and gently cradled her head so he could see her face. “Ana, what’s wrong? Are you ok?”

She just shook her head and buried it into Derek’s shoulder.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Claudia, who had put herself between John and Derek. She turned to address Stiles. “She was asleep in John’s arms. He was just walking her into the house when there was a loud zapping sound and John stumbled back.”

Stiles looked at the front door, then back at Ana. “The ward,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What ward?” Derek demanded. He rocked Ana back and forth as her sobs began to subside. “She’s never activated a house ward before.”

Stiles shook his head, still trying to piece everything together. The rest of the pack and the omegas had formed a circle around Derek and the Stilinskis.

“I put up a new ward while you guys were running. One that prevents harmful magic from entering the house.” He looked up at Derek in alarm. “Derek give Ana to me. Give her to me now.”

Derek shook his head and clung to Ana tighter.

Stiles moved towards Derek swiftly. “Derek, you have to trust me. Can you trust me?”

“Of course,” Derek replied immediately. He patted Ana’s back a few more times uncertainly before moving to transfer the girl to Stiles.

Stiles secured Ana in his arms and addressed Derek again. “You need to go. Now. I don’t know what kind of harmful magic is in her necklace, but Eleanor said it had something to do with taking you out of the fight. Please, Der. I need you to go.”

Inside the house, the grandfather clock chimed midnight. As Derek turned to leave, Ana’s necklace began to glow. Before Stiles could open his mouth to yell out a warning, a pulse of light burst from the stones, knocking every werewolf in the vicinity to the ground. 

The necklace disintegrated right before Stiles’ eyes.

Stiles looked around in panic to find Derek, Scott, Laura, Cora, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, Grady, Wallace, and Keith all on the ground. 

Derek, Scott, and Laura recovered the fastest, getting to their feet slowly while the others moaned on the grass. John and Claudia ran around to each of them to check for signs of injury. 

Derek and Laura looked utterly lost. Laura flicked her wrist, trying to unleash her claws. Derek prodded inside his mouth and found that his fangs were gone. 

Stiles heard Scott gasp. “Stiles.”

Stiles whipped around to look at his best friend. “What is it, Scott? Are you ok?” He readjusted Ana, who appeared to be too shell-shocked to cry. 

Scott shook his head, running his tongue over his blunt teeth. “No. I’m human.” He looked around at the rest of the wolves, whose eyes were no longer glowing, and whose faces had lost all signs of any beta form. 

Scott locked eyes with Stiles. “We all are.”


	36. Your little girl

“Mom?” Stiles called, shifting Ana onto his hip. “Are they ok?”

Claudia, who was over by the betas, called back, “They look uninjured. But I think Scott’s right – I think they’re human.”

Stiles motioned for his dad to take Ana, and transferred her over to him once they were standing side by side. “Dad, you and mom need to take Ana upstairs and make sure she’s ok. I’ll deal with this.”

John looked apprehensive at the thought of leaving Stiles alone with the newly-turned humans, but did as Stiles asked. 

Ana made it though the front door without the wards stopping her, which was a small relief to Stiles. Clearly, whatever harmful magic had triggered the reaction earlier was gone from the girl. 

He approached Derek cautiously. “Der?”

Derek’s head snapped up. His face was panicked and vulnerable in a way Stiles had never seen it. “Stiles,” he said weakly. “What’s happening? I can barely hear anything past a few yards, and my arms and legs feel weak.” 

Stiles squeezed Derek’s hand lightly. “I know. Look, we need to get everyone inside. It’s not safe for everyone out here in this state. I need you to hold it together for me for just a few minutes, can you do that?” 

Derek met his eyes and nodded. “Everyone, listen up,” he called to the pack. The eyes of every former wolf in the front yard shot up to find Derek’s. “Stiles is right, we need to get inside. Is anyone injured?”

They shook their heads and slowly ventured back into the house. As he watched Erica’s retreating back, Stiles suddenly smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. He stayed out on the porch and shut the door behind him so no one could hear his conversation. He whipped out his phone and dialed.

“Stiles? It’s late, is everything ok?” Melissa’s voice sounded groggy on the phone.

“Hey, Melissa, sorry to wake you.” Stiles laughed nervously. “Listen, there’s been a bit of an incident at the house. Can you come by and check some of the pack out?”

Stiles heard rustling on the other side of the line. “Of course. Was there an attack?”

“No, nothing like that. Hey, can you do me a favor though?” He rubbed the back of his neck while pacing across the front porch. “Can you stop by the Reyes’ house and pick up Erica’s seizure medication?”

There was a pause before Melissa spoke again. “Stiles, tell me what’s going on.”

Stiles sighed and caught Melissa up on what had happened. He had just hung up the phone when Talia came trotting out of the trees with her tongue lagging out of her mouth happily.

Her snout pointed towards the house and she sniffed. She shifted as she approached the porch steps. 

Stiles grabbed some of the clothes they kept in a bin by the door for just this occasion and tossed them to Talia. He averted his eyes as she redressed. 

“Stiles, why does the pack smell off?” Her face was lined with concern, which didn’t subside after Stiles told her what had happened. She burst through the doors with Stiles hot on her heels.

The Hales, who had never been human before, were huddled up on a couch together, their faces full of confusion. Isaac, Erica, and Boyd were sitting on a loveseat looking a little shocked, but more resigned.

Scott and the omegas were spread out over the remaining couch, looking like they had no idea how to feel about the loss of their werewolf traits.

Talia looked over her children, then the other betas, then the omegas and Scott, before turning to Stiles. “They seem to be ok, but you’re right. Human.” She shook her head in wonder. “I’ve never heard of such a thing, have you?”

“No. Keith, have you?”

Keith looked up from his hands and shook his head. “No, but I can do some research.” He stood up and wandered over to the library. Boyd followed, leaving Isaac and Erica to huddle together on the loveseat.

“Eleanor must have assumed Derek was going to be taking care of Ana, and planted the necklace to take him out,” theorized Grady. 

“Yeah, well that was a hell of a gamble,” said Laura through gritted teeth. “She didn’t bank on the rest of us bonding with her. She probably thought the pull of an Alpha male to an abandoned child on the full moon was too much for Derek to resist.”

“She was right,” added Cora sardonically. 

Stiles took out his phone and called Lydia. 

“This better be good, Stiles,” she answered tersely behind a yawn.

“You guys need to come back now.”

“Is anyone hurt?” Now fully alert, Lydia began waking the others.

“No, but we need you back here.” Stiles squeezed Scott’s shoulder and sat on the arm of the couch.

“Ok, I’ll call you from the road with our eta. Stay safe.” She hung up without another word.

Stiles turned his attention back to the rest of the pack. “Alright, everyone, listen up.” He waited until he had everyone’s attention. “There’s nothing more we can do tonight. Keith, Boyd, and I are going to do some research. You all should try to get some sleep.”

As one, the pack stood up and immediately started putting the couch cushions together to form a massive bed in the middle of the living room. Cora plastered herself between Isaac and Erica, while Grady grabbed Laura and Wallace to bracket himself. Laura and Erica linked arms, and the group lay quietly, not sleeping.

Scott and Talia went into the kitchen to put on some coffee, while Stiles and Derek ran up the stairs to check on Ana.

Derek turned to Stiles when they reached the top of the stairs and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder to stall him momentarily. Stiles was delighted to find that Derek was breathing was slightly heavier than usual.

“Oh my goodness, Derek, are you tired? From running up the stairs?” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Stiles couldn’t help the smug grin spreading across his face.

Derek folded his arms, which were still considerably muscled. “I am not tired. Just, not used to having to exert so much energy…” he trailed off in confusion.

Stiles darted forward and placed a short kiss on Derek’s lips. Derek cocked his head to the side.

“What?”

Derek smiled. “Nothing, it just feels a little different when you kiss me now that I’m human.”

Stiles laughed. “Ok, well if this isn’t something that wears off right away, we can totally explore that later.”

Derek nodded in agreement and the two took off towards Ana’s room.

They entered to find Ana asleep in her bed with her stuffed werewolf tucked under her chin. 

“How’s she doing?” Stiles whispered to his mother, who was lying down next to Ana.

“She’s fine. Just a little shocked. Your dad read her a story and she conked right out. So did he,” she added with a grin, pointing to John, who was fast asleep on the rocking chair in the corner of the room.

Stiles strode over to his father and picked up the book that was still open on his lap. He shook the man’s shoulder gently. “Dad?” John’s eyes opened slowly. “Dad, why don’t you and mom go take one of the guest rooms on the third floor. No reason for you two to drive home tonight.”

John nodded sleepily and stood up. His eyes came to rest on Derek, who was hovering uncertainly in the doorway.

“I want to apologize for my behavior earlier, John,” Derek began quietly. “I shouldn’t have growled at you. I just –” 

John put his hand up to stop him. “It’s alright, son. I get it. You were trying to protect your little girl.”

Derek and Stiles exchanged looks of alarm at John’s categorization of Ana.

“I – what? She…” Derek stuttered.

John just laughed quietly and patted him on his shoulder. He and Claudia disappeared up the stairs to claim a bedroom for the night.

Derek was still standing in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

“Derek?” Ana’s sleepy voice cut through the quiet room with ease. 

Derek was at her side in an instant. He knelt down by her bed and smoothed her hair out on top of her head. “Yeah, munchkin?”

She scooted backwards on her bed to make room for him. “’s bedtime,” she said pointedly. 

“Go on,” encouraged Stiles. “I’ll leave the door open so your mom can hear you if you need us.”

Derek nodded numbly and joined Ana on the bed. The little girl sniffled and curled up under his arm. She was back asleep in seconds. 

Stiles stopped by the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and talk to Scott and Talia before joining Boyd and Keith in the library with his laptop.

He sat down wearily next to Talia, across the table from Scott. 

“You know, there’s something bothering me about this whole thing,” said Stiles. 

Scott scoffed. “Only one thing?”

Stiles kicked Scott playfully under the table, but otherwise ignored him. “Eleanor only mentioned Derek on the call with Grady. She didn’t seem to think the other wolves would be affected.”

Talia nodded. “I was thinking about that as well. From what you have said, she seems overly confident. And she was quick enough to believe what Grady said about the born wolves seeing themselves as better than the bitten wolves.”

Stiles cocked his head to the side in confusion. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well,” Talia began, leaning back in her chair. “That is an old world way of thinking. If she and her coven believe that, then they may be working off of other misconceptions about pack behavior.”

“Like what?” Scott furrowed his brow. 

Talia took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “In addition to the whole born versus bitten debate, there are some who believe that Alphas, Alpha males in particular, go somewhat feral on full moon runs. Eleanor must have been banking on that. If Derek was feral, he would have been drawn to an abandoned child and felt the need to protect her from threats, even from his own pack.”

Stiles nodded. “At least some of that must be rooted in fact. I mean, he did rip her out of my dad’s arms after she screamed.”

Talia conceded that point with a slight nod. “I guess she thought he would take her somewhere secluded for protection, which is why she imagined that only he would have been affected by the necklace.”

“So Ana had nothing to do with it? She was just a pawn?” Scott seemed relieved at this news.

Stiles rounded on him. “You thought Ana was evil?” He demanded, setting his coffee on the table to free his hands.

Scott raised his own to placate Stiles. “Whoa, calm down. She’s technically part of their coven. Her mother is the coven leader. She had a necklace she wouldn’t let us take off that shocked Laura when she tried to remove it. What kind of Alpha would I be if I wasn’t wary of her?”

Stiles sat back in his chair and blew out a harsh breath. He combed his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess you’re right, Scotty. At least we know she’s ok now. I mean, she got past the wards. So there’s no harmful magic left on her, and she doesn’t have bad intentions.”

Talia reached over to rub Stiles’ arm. “And we are all glad to hear that, Stiles.”

With that, he refilled his coffee mug and headed into the library to help Boyd and Keith research.

Scott and Talia stayed up to watch over the pack, who had all thankfully fallen asleep around 2:00am. 

Scott greeted his mother when she arrived. She gave Scott a quick exam and determined that he was in perfect health. Assuming that the rest of the former wolves would be in the same condition, Talia found Melissa a spare room to sleep in for the night. She could give each of the others a thorough exam in the morning. 

Lydia called Stiles and let him know they would be arriving just after 7:00am. She told Stiles that Allison said if anyone was to attack before then, to put Laura in charge of the archery team.

Stiles passed along the information to Scott and Talia before going back to his research. 

Even though it was Peter, everyone felt a little better knowing they had at least one more wolf on the way.

At just past 5:00am, Talia growled. It was loud enough in the previously silent house to wake the pack and alert Stiles, Keith, and Boyd in the library. The three walked out to find Talia staring at the front door. Her claws were out and her eyes were red, but she made no move to shift past that. 

Laura and Cora flanked their mother. Isaac looked confused momentarily before his eyes opened wide in understanding. “Wait, do you smell another wolf?”

Talia nodded, not taking her eyes off of the door.

Isaac held his hands up soothingly. “No, it’s ok. I know who it is.”

“Who?” Asked Scott. “Peter won’t be here for another couple of hours.” 

Isaac just smirked. “It’s not Peter. But you might wish it was.”

Stiles shared a confused look with Scott before a knock sounded at the door. 

Stiles approached the door cautiously and, after a nod from Isaac, opened it. 

His eyes widened in shock as he took in their visitor. 

“Jackson?”


	37. Derek's first beta

Stiles stood in the doorway, unmoving. “What are you doing here, Jackson?”

Jackson shrugged and dropped his bags on the porch. “Heard you guys were in trouble and needed my help.”

“Hey, man.” Isaac slid past Stiles and, to everyone’s surprise, gathered Jackson up into a brief hug. Even more shockingly, Jackson reciprocated the embrace.

“Ok, what the hell is going on?” Stiles looked around to see if everyone else was seeing what he was seeing. He pointed at Isaac and Jackson accusatorily. “Since when are you two friends? And who told you we needed your help? We don’t need your help.”

Isaac just rolled his eyes and went to grab one of Jackson’s bags, only to find it too heavy to lift. Jackson cocked an eyebrow at the struggling boy. “Anyone care to tell me why Isaac can’t pick up a bag?” He sniffed the air. “And why you all smell funny?”

Talia stepped forward with her hand outstretched. Jackson shook her hand and looked her up and down warily. Her claws had retracted, but her eyes still glowed red. 

“I’m Talia Hale. It’s a pleasure to meet my son’s first beta. I’ve heard a great deal about you.” Her words were warm, but her eyes were cautious.

Jackson scoffed. “From Stiles, or from Lydia? That would probably make a huge difference.” Isaac cleared his throat pointedly. “Oh, I mean, it’s a pleasure to meet you too, Alpha Hale.”

Talia nodded respectfully. Without taking her eyes off of Jackson, she began issuing orders. “Boyd, dear, would you please take Jackson’s things and bring them up to one of the guest rooms? And Grady, would you be so kind as to bring our guest a cup of coffee?”

The two nodded and left to complete their tasks. Boyd made the bags look like they were filled with feathers when he lifted them, which caused Isaac to pout and Cora to smirk.

Keith and Wallace slunk into the library to continue to research, while Stiles, Talia, Jackson, Isaac, Erica, Laura, Cora, and Scott went into the living room to catch Jackson up on the threat. Laura and Cora ran ahead of the group to put all the cushions back on the couches from the makeshift bed in the middle of the floor.

Once they were joined by Grady, who had brought in a few carafes of coffee, and Boyd, they got to work telling Jackson everything Lydia and Isaac had not already told him. 

Jackson sneered when they were finished. “So let me get this straight. These witches want to attack us because we killed one of their ‘sisters’ or whatever when they attacked you in a fight over Stilinski, of all people. They turned you human by using a cursed necklace attached to a five year old to take away your werewolf power at midnight on the full moon last night. And Stilinski’s been playing house with Derek and this little witch girl for the last few days?”

Erica nodded. “Oh, and Isaac’s gay now.”

Jackson dismissed her with a wave, “I knew that one already.”

Stiles stood up. “Ok, what is happening? What do you mean you knew already?” He turned to face Isaac. “When did you call him and tell him to come here? How long have you two not wanted to kill each other?”

Laura guided Stiles to an armchair and sat him down. She plopped onto the arm of the chair and threw her legs across his lap, effectively pinning him into the seat. 

Isaac spoke up quietly from his perch on the couch next to Jackson. “After Allison… after Allison died, I went away for about a month, remember?” 

Stiles shook his head. “I – I don’t remember a lot of what happened right after that.”

Isaac swallowed and nodded. “Right, the Nogitsune. ‘Course, sorry. Well, I left and went to stay with Jackson in London for a bit.”

Stiles frowned in confusion. “Why Jackson?”

“What, like he would have been better off staying with you?” Jackson spouted indignantly.

Isaac smacked him on the back of his head. “He was the only one who would understand why I felt like I did, but wouldn’t remind me of her every time I looked at him.”

Stiles whined softly, prompting Laura to start running her fingers through his hair gently. 

Isaac cleared his throat. “When I came back, we still stayed in touch. Not often, but we’d talk about twice a week. So with this witch threat looming, I figured we’d need all the help we could get. And Jackson’s been training with a pack in London, so he can definitely help us.”

“It was a good idea, Isaac.” Everyone’s heads whipped up towards the source of the noise, only to find Derek standing in the kitchen with his arms folded across his chest. “Jackson, it’s good to see you.”

“Derek,” Jackson nodded in greeting.

Stiles threw his hands up in exasperation. “Oh, don’t tell me you guys have kept in touch too!”

Derek smiled. “A little. He’s my first beta, after all.”

“Dude, you smell terrible. They tell me you’re human now, huh?” Jackson smirked.

Derek just ignored him and walked into the room to sit by Cora. 

Jackson, who had apparently just noticed Cora for the first time, hummed appreciatively while looking her up and down. “Nice. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Jackson. Jackson Whittemore.”

Derek growled.

Jackson just shook his head. “Far less scary when you’re not a wolf.”

Cora ignored her brother. “Cora Hale, and not gonna happen.”

Undeterred, Jackson just smirked. “We’ll see.”

“SO.” Stiles interjected pointedly. “Your girlfriend should be here in about an hour. Do you want to try to get some sleep before she gets in?”

Shameless as ever, Jackson continued smirking and opened his mouth. Before he could speak, Stiles interrupted him preemptively. “In your own bed, jackass.”

Laura snorted and stood up to address Jackson. “Come on, I’ll show you where your room is. And if you try to hit on me at any point during our walk upstairs, I will break both of your wrists. Werewolf or not.”

Jackson held up his hands innocently and followed Laura up the stairs.

“Ana asleep?” Stiles asked Derek when the two were gone.

Derek nodded. “For now. I hate not being able to hear her,” he added anxiously, glaring at the staircase.

Stiles smiled. “Go. I’ll come get you when the others arrive.”

“Ok,” Derek sighed. He placed a kiss on Stiles’ head and took the stairs two at a time to get back up to Ana.

7:00am rolled around and brought with it a carful of cranky, sleep-deprived pack members. 

“Where’s Jackson?” Lydia asked as she strolled in first, looking like she’d had a full night sleep.

Stiles just pointed upstairs and let her figure the rest out from there. 

She disappeared just as Allison and Chris entered the house, toting the group’s bags. Chris collapsed into one of the armchairs while Allison ran over and embraced Scott. The two sleepily headed upstairs without a word.

Boyd, Erica, Cora, and Isaac decided to give into their lethargy and claimed one of the second floor bedrooms for themselves, leaving Stiles, Laura, Talia, and the omegas downstairs to greet Peter and Dom.

Dom met Talia and Laura with sleepy cheek kisses, then ran into the library to relieve Keith and Wallace so the young men could get some sleep. They gave what they had to Dom and zombie-walked up the stairs.

“Grady, what time is your call with Eleanor?” Laura asked through a yawn.

Grady blinked sluggishly. “The text she sent right after the last call said 2:00pm.”

Laura grabbed Grady’s hand and led the man upstairs. “Come on. We can still get a few hours of sleep before then.” Grady nodded agreeably and followed Laura without complaint.

Peter sat in the armchair on the opposite side of the living room from Chris. In an attempt to be civil, Stiles brought them both coffee.

After a grateful nod from Chris and an eerie sneer from Peter, Stiles grabbed another cup for himself and one for Talia and sat down on the couch. Talia joined him after making sure Dom was settled in the library.

“So,” she asked tiredly. “Did Kira and Malia give you any new information?”

Chris looked like he was falling asleep where he sat, so Peter sighed and filled them in. “Actually, yes.”

Stiles sat up, more alert.

“Kira says she saw the witch who had missed the meeting return in a car with blacked out rear windows right before they were discovered. She couldn’t tell if there was anyone in the car, but Malia said she smelled a werewolf.”

Talia frowned. “So they have a wolf on their side. Could she tell if it was an Alpha?”

Peter didn’t answer, which Chris found odd. He opened his eyes long enough to offer, “Yes. She did say.” After a pointed look at Peter, he continued. “She said it smelled strong. Like an Alpha.”

Stiles filed away Peter’s lack of answer as a problem for another day. He turned to the adults and asked, “So what should we have Grady say on the call this afternoon?”

Talia sighed wearily. “That conversation can wait a couple of hours, Stiles. Why don’t you head upstairs and get some sleep. We can finish researching and look after things down here.”

Before Stiles could protest, Chris stood up and grabbed Stiles’ shoulder gently. He led the boy up the stairs and deposited him in front of the door that was propped open enough to spot an Ana-shaped lump in the bed and a snoring Derek. With an exhausted smile, Chris continued up the stairs to find an empty guest room on the third floor.

Stiles slipped inside and closed the door silently behind him. He made his way over to the bed and crawled under the covers until he and Derek were bracketing Ana. 

Derek sniffled and opened a sluggish eye when he felt the bed jostle. “Stiles? What time is it?”

“Shh, go back to sleep, everyone’s home now,” Stiles soothed, reaching over Ana’s sleeping form to run his hand up Derek’s arm. He stopped at the man’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “They’ll come wake us when they need us.”

“Mmkay,” Derek managed, already falling back asleep.

“Night, Sourwolf.” Stiles hand found Derek’s and held it loosely. 

“Night. Love you.”

Stiles’ eyes shot open, but Derek was already snoring again. He waited for the panic to hit and the uncertainty to set in, but it never came. Instead, he simply tightened his grip on Derek’s hand and fell asleep smiling.


	38. I'm sorry

Stiles awoke to a cold nose pressed against his own. He opened his eyes to find Ana giggling in his face. She leaned back and looked at Derek expectantly.

“Very good,” he praised. “And what do we call that?”

“An Eskimo kiss,” she replied dutifully. 

Stiles couldn’t help but smile through his exhaustion.

“What an excellent way to wake up. Thank you, sweetie.” Stiles rubbed his eyes and sat up. “What time is it?”

Derek picked Ana up and put her down on her feet by the side of the bed. The two walked into the connected bathroom to brush their teeth. “It’s just after noon. Boyd’s making lunch.”

That perked Stiles up. “Boyd’s cooking?” Boyd was the best chef of the bunch, but it wasn’t often that he cooked for the whole pack.

Stiles joined the other two in the bathroom and they got ready for the day.

Ana opted to wear a Power Rangers dress (which was not easy to find in a Beacon Hills kids clothing store) and some purple tights. She ran down the stairs ahead of Stiles and Derek. When they reached the kitchen, they found that she had already pounced into Isaac’s lap and was excitedly showing off her outfit.

Erica had her arms wrapped around Boyd’s waist from behind and was “helping” him cook. Lydia and Jackson were sitting in the living room with Peter and Melissa. Jackson kept looking back and forth between Lydia and Peter, as if wondering how Lydia could stand to be in the same room as him.

Peter and Melissa were locked in an intense-looking game of chess, which Melissa seemed to be winning.

Stiles skipped over to Melissa, who subtly handed him a brown paper bag containing Erica’s seizure medication. “I’ve got Scott’s inhaler in my purse, too,” she whispered.

Stiles nodded in thanks, walked over to Erica, and slipped the bag in her back pocket. She kissed his cheek sadly and mouthed “Thank you,” before returning to her cooking with Boyd.

“Hey, Der?” Lydia’s voice carried from her position under Jackson’s arm into the kitchen. 

Derek looked up in question.

“Can you grab my coffee mug? I left it on the counter.” She pointed to her mug and sat up.

Derek dutifully brought Lydia her mug, which earned him a kiss on the cheek from the grateful banshee.

“You moving in on my girl, Derek?” Jackson joked, surprised at his girlfriend’s familiarity with his Alpha.

“Yup,” Derek replied simply, not taking the bait.

Lydia and Stiles let out startled laughs before they were interrupted by Grady and Laura reemerging from upstairs. 

Jackson took a pointed sniff in their direction. “Nice,” he proclaimed loudly, gesturing crudely between the two.

Before Derek’s shocked face had fully formed, Laura broke off into a run towards Jackson. He was able to use his werewolf speed to his advantage just long enough to get out the door before he was sprinting full out away from a furious Laura.

Derek turned to face Grady, prepared to give him a stern talking to, when Cora emerged from upstairs, yawning. “Don’t worry, Der. I already talked to him.” 

Seeing how wide of a berth Grady was giving Cora in the kitchen, Derek decided to let it go. 

Cora grabbed two of the hot sandwiches off of Boyd’s tray and took the seat that Jackson had just vacated. She handed one of the sandwiches to Lydia. “Your boyfriend’s a tool.”

“Yes.” Lydia didn’t refute Cora. She just took a bite of her sandwich and waited for her to continue.

Cora looked at Lydia in contemplation. She squinted. “He hit on me.”

Again, Lydia looked unsurprised. “That is not at all shocking. Although we’re going to have to have another talk about unwanted advances,” she finished with a sigh.

Cora cocked her eyebrow. “Who said it was entirely unwanted?”

Lydia seemed taken aback momentarily, but recovered quickly. She looked Cora up and down. “Hm,” was all she offered.

“Hm,” Cora agreed, turning her attention back to her sandwich.

“What just happened?” Stiles asked Derek.

Derek just looked profoundly disturbed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The two sat at the kitchen table with Isaac and Ana, trying really hard to forget the last five minutes of their lives.

Grady joined Cora and Lydia in the living room as they watched Peter grow more and more frustrated with Melissa’s chess skills.

“Where are my parents?” Stiles asked the room.

Isaac looked around to the door of the library, which was closed. “They were in there with Talia researching earlier. Although I think Scott relieved Talia a few hours ago. Your parents should still be in there with him.”

“Did Dom get some sleep?” Derek asked as he stood to get a bowl of cereal for Ana.

Isaac nodded. “He’s upstairs now.”

Laura reentered the house with a pouting Jackson in her wake. Laura had dirt stains on her jeans, but was wearing a very satisfied smile. She joined Grady on the couch while Jackson looked at Lydia and Cora suspiciously. “Why are the two of you looking at me like that?”

When they both just grinned at each other and shrugged, Jackson fled the living room in favor of sitting at the kitchen table next to Isaac.

Ana, who was still occupying Isaac’s lap, attempted to start up a conversation with Jackson. Jackson, to no ones surprise, was not good with kids. 

“Do you wanna color with me?” Ana looked up at him through her lashes.

Jackson looked to Stiles and Derek for help. 

“What a great idea, Ana,” said Stiles, barely hiding his glee at Jackson’s discomfort. “Let me get you two some paper and colored pencils.”

Jackson growled at Stiles under his breath.

Derek chuckled until he saw Ana wave her hand discretely.

He quirked his eyebrow and put on his stern face. “Munchkin, what did you just do?”

Ana looked at him way too innocently. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Derek was not fooled. A thought occurred to him suddenly. “Ana, did you just tie his shoelaces together?”

Stiles tried and failed to hide his burst of laughter behind the paper he had just grabbed from the kitchen drawer. 

Jackson shot Ana a betrayed look and bent over to peer at his shoelaces. “She did!”

Erica, Lydia, and Cora all erupted into laughter. Even Melissa had to turn away to hide her smile.

Derek did his best to keep his face stern. “Ana, you should never use magic as a way of punishing someone.”

Ana looked down and her lip wobbled. She cowered into Isaac’s chest and began sobbing, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” 

Derek, who was shocked at the extreme reaction his words had, sat motionless in his chair, unsure of what to do.

Isaac however, recognized the reaction, and assured Derek and Stiles he would take care of it. He readjusted Ana slightly and carried her out back to the porch swing that was on the side of the house, away from prying eyes.

Jackson had just finished untying and retying his laces correctly when Allison came down the stairs. Her eyes scanned the room before landing on Jackson. Her dimples came out in full force as she ran to into the kitchen.

He stood up and pulled her into a sweeping hug. They spoke softly to each other for a few seconds before joining Cora and Lydia in the living room.

Isaac came back in, towing a reluctant Ana. Ana looked up at Isaac uncertainly when they approached Stiles and Derek at the kitchen table. Isaac nodded to prompt her to speak.

“Sorry, Jackson,” she whispered towards the living room while looking at the floor.

Jackson looked around for help, completely lost. “Uh, it’s ok, Ana.”

Ana padded over to Derek. She looked up at him with wide, sad eyes and he couldn’t help but scoop her up and sit her on his lap. “Did you have a good talk with Isaac?”

She nodded. “Uh huh. Uncle Isaac said his dad was like my mama. But that you aren’t like either of them. So I don’t hafta be scared when I do something wrong.”

Derek looked up at Isaac gratefully and nodded. “That’s right. Do you understand what you did wrong?”

Ana nodded again. “I used my magic against Jackson. I’m not gonna do it again, I promise.”

“Ok, good.” Derek pulled Ana to him tightly and kissed the top of her head. He let her down and told her to bring her colored pencils and paper over to Jackson to see if he’d still color with her.

Jackson glared at him over Ana’s head, but of course, relented and colored with the little girl.

Isaac, who was hovering in the kitchen with Erica and Boyd, looked a bit unsure what to do with himself.

Derek rose from his seat and strode quickly over to the lost boy and enclosed him in a tight hug, which Isaac took no time in reciprocating. The two clung to each other tightly for several moments, before separating.

After beating Peter at chess, Melissa gave the rest of the former wolves brief exams. She deemed them all healthy and left for her shift at the hospital. 

Allison received a text from her dad letting her know that he was with Wallace and Keith collecting weapons from their arsenal to bring to the Hale house.

With everyone now accounted for, they split up into three groups after lunch; one group to continue to research the effects of the spell (Lydia, a reluctant Jackson, Peter, and Dom), and one group to brief Grady on what to say during his next phone call (Stiles, Talia, and Chris). The newly turned humans formed their own group who were to spend the afternoon with John and Allison going over the basics of shooting and archery with their new human strength and coordination (Derek, Scott, Laura, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, Cora, Wallace, and Keith).

Claudia volunteered to spend the afternoon with Ana, who weaseled her way into being able to watch the archery lessons from a perch next to the shed a safe distance away.

2:00pm rolled around and Grady, Stiles, Talia, and Chris gathered at the kitchen table to await the call. Grady’s phone rang. He answered and placed it on speaker in the middle of the table.

“Grady?” The impatient, harsh female voice was back.

Grady cleared his throat. “Yes?”

“Put Stiles on the phone.”


	39. Arranging a meeting

Grady looked at Stiles, Talia, and Chris across the table. 

He recovered quickly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean put Stiles on the phone,” she retorted impatiently. “I know he’s there with you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m alone. Wallace and Keith are watching the pack now.” Grady bit his lip nervously and waited while there was complete silence on the other end.

There was a sharp exhale from Eleanor before she spoke again in a clipped tone. “If you don’t put Stiles on the phone, I will take my coven and attack the pack right now while they are weak.”

Stiles sat up straight. He looked to Talia, who considered their options quickly. She and Chris shared a nod and motioned for Stiles to jump in.

“Is this Eleanor I’m speaking to?” Stiles asked.

Stiles could almost hear the sneer in her response. “Stiles. I thought you might have turned the little weasels. That’s why we were forced to send in reinforcements.”

Stiles clenched his fist under the table. “By that, do you mean your daughter? The one you let loose in the woods to be found by a werewolf pack you knew nothing about? Those reinforcements?” Stiles was shouting by the end of his tirade, but relaxed when Talia put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hmm,” Eleanor mused. “I knew that the Alpha male beast wouldn’t be able to resist taking care of the child, but I hadn’t considered that you would let yourself get invested in her well being.”

A deadly calm washed over Stiles. “I’m going to need you to tell me what you meant when you called him a beast.”

Chris stood up silently and ran over to crouch down by Stiles’ chair. He put his hand on the boy’s arm and nodded towards the kitchen lights, which were blinking on and off.

Stiles looked around, startled. He took a few deep breaths and the lights went back to their normal glow. He nodded gratefully at Chris, who resumed his seat on Talia’s left.

Eleanor ignored his question. “So, Stiles. We have a bit of a situation here, don’t we?”

Stiles closed his eyes before responding calmly. “And what would that be?”

“Your pack killed my sister.”

Stiles chewed on his lip for a second before responding. “And who told you that?”

She brushed him off again. “We have connections in the Fae community. We know exactly what happened.”

Stiles raised his eyebrows incredulously, giving up the charade altogether. “Then you know that it was your sister who attacked us? All we did was defend ourselves.”

“She was taking a walk in the woods and you animals killed her!” Eleanor shouted.

“We are not animals, Eleanor. We don’t hurt people unless they are trying to hurt us and there isn’t another way. There was no other way. We didn’t have a choice,” Stiles pleaded. “We can end this peacefully.”

“Peacefully?” She scoffed. “Werewolves don’t want peace. Although I guess none of you all are werewolves now anyway, are you?” Stiles could hear the self satisfied grin through her words.

“What do you mean?” 

“Oh, don’t give me that. I placed the spell on the necklace myself. There’s no way that little girl didn’t weasel her way into your full moon ritual. Your whole pack must have been there when it went off. Meaning you all are defenseless.”

Stiles laughed. “Defenseless? What necklace? Ana’s necklace? She’s outside right now, but I think she’s still wearing it.”

Eleanor faltered. “I don’t believe you.”

“Believe what you want,” Stiles dismissed her airily. “I have no reason to lie. I’m not the one trying to lead a whole coven into a werewolf den to avenge a sister who was stupid enough to attack them without cause.”

There was a click as Eleanor hung up.

Stiles looked at Talia. “What do I do if she calls back? Should we try to schedule a meeting?”

Talia nodded. “Yes, but not with all of us. I don’t want the whole pack in one place.”

“I agree,” said Chris. “And since you told her the wolves are fine, we should send Peter and Jackson.”

“The expendable ones, you’re right.” Stiles nodded.

Even Grady looked at him exasperatedly.

“I mean – the only remaining beta wolves, you’re right,” Stiles amended with an eye roll.

Ignoring Stiles, Talia moved on. “Chris, I think you should go as well. We could use a representative from the hunters for negotiations.”

Chris considered that for a moment. “As much as I don’t want her to be on the front line, Allison is the head of the Argent family. Don’t you think she should represent us? It might add legitimacy to the meeting.”

“No, I think Talia’s right,” offered Stiles. “Allison is our lead archer. We need her leading the archery team. And knowing what we do about Eleanor, her coven may be more likely to make a truce with a veteran hunter than with Allison.”

Chris conceded the point right as the phone began to ring again.

“Eleanor,” Stiles answered without letting her speak. “We will agree to arrange a meeting to discuss a truce. We don’t want anymore bloodshed.”

“And why would I want to make a truce with a bunch of weakened mongrels? You’re all human now anyway,” she spat.

“Again, you believe what you want, but if you and your coven attack us, you will die,” Stiles said simply.

Eleanor paused. 

Stiles, Talia, Chris, and Grady exchanged glances while they held their breaths.

“Very well,” she conceded. “We shall meet in two days’ time. I will send three representatives from my coven, and you will do the same with your pack. I will contact you tomorrow morning with the location.”

Stiles shook his head. “Oh, no. We will choose the location.”

“That simply won’t do,” she snapped. “We will not be led into a trap.” Eleanor’s tone left no room for argument.

“It is not our intention to trap you, Eleanor. We are the ones who want to end this peacefully, remember?” Stiles rolled his eyes and fought to keep his voice even.

Eleanor sniffed. “Fine. When I call you in the morning, you will give me three possible locations. I will confer with my coven and we will decide which is acceptable.”

Talia and Chris nodded. 

“Ok. That’s good enough for us.”

“I will call this number at 10:00am tomorrow.” She hung up before he could respond.

Stiles leaned back into his chair with a sigh.

“Very nicely done, dear,” Talia praised with a smile.

Stiles nodded in thanks and closed his eyes. He opened them after a few seconds and leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “Ok, so we’ve got two days to figure out a plan. We need to talk to my dad and Allison and see who they want on bows and guns.” 

“Ok,” said Talia, turning to Chris. “The two of us should meet with Jackson and Peter.” 

The four of them stood and walked out into the training area. Everyone outside stopped what they were doing and jogged over to meet them.

When Claudia was close enough, Stiles asked her to take Ana inside. “We’ll let you know what’s going on after we meet,” he told her as he kissed her cheek. She nodded and was gone with Ana in tow.

Talia explained the phone call and the plan. “John, who do you want on your team? We’re thinking you and Allison should both have four, including yourselves.”

John furrowed his brow and appraised the pack. “Isaac, Cora, and Dom.” The three of them nodded and took off towards the shooting range with John.

“Allison?” Talia prompted.

“I want Laura, Grady, and Lydia.” Allison set her jaw as if expecting a fight for including one of the omegas, but Talia just nodded.

The four left for the archery range.

“Chris, Peter, Jackson, you’re with me,” said Talia, leading them back into the house. 

Stiles turned to the pack members who were left. “Wallace, Keith, I need you two to go back through your research. We need to find a way to break this spell.” The two nodded and left.

“What about us?” Asked Erica, gesturing to herself, Derek, Scott, and Boyd.

“I need you four to help me find potential meeting sites,” Stiles responded, leading them back to the house.

Erica nodded. “Ok, that’s today, but what about during the actual fight?”

Stiles avoided her eyes. “You guys won’t be in the actual fight.”

Derek and Boyd stayed silent while Scott and Erica protested loudly. When they were finished yelling, Stiles took a deep breath.

“Boyd, do you remember those cameras you helped me install last week?” 

Boyd nodded. “The ones around the perimeter?”

“Yeah, those. I need you and Scott to be eyes and ears for Allison and my dad. We’re going to give the coven three locations. Each of them will be locations where we’ve got cameras.”

Scott frowned. “How do you know they won’t disable them?”

“Because they’re also locations where I’ve placed perimeter runes,” said Stiles with a grin. “Based on my conversations with Eleanor, she’s going to think our only protection will be magical. Electronics won’t even cross her mind. As soon as she sees and disables the runes, she won’t think twice about us having a secondary defense system.”

“Ok,” agreed Scott. “So I’ll be coordinating with the archery team to let them know where their targets are?”

Stiles shook his head. “No, you’ll be working with my dad. Boyd’ll coordinate with Allison.”

Before Scott could protest, Stiles put his hand up to stop him. “Scott, if Allison gets hurt, are you going to be able to concentrate enough to still help Laura, Grady, and Lydia?”

Scott shook his head slowly and conceded.

“Ok, but what about us?” Asked Erica, gesturing to herself and Derek indignantly.

“Erica, you remember those sniper rifles Chris showed you a few weeks ago?” After Erica’s nod, Stiles continued. “You and Derek will be planted on the roof. Keith, Wallace, and my mom will be here with Ana, and Melissa will be setting up in the living room to prepare for injuries. They’ll need to be kept safe.”

“But why us?” Derek finally chimed in. 

Stiles shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. “You’re all human now. Erica, we can’t be sure you won’t have a seizure while you’re out there.” Erica deflated and nodded sadly, but didn’t argue.

“Scotty, your asthma’s back. I saw you duck behind the storage shed after running from the shooting range to the archery range. You were catching your breath, weren’t you?” Scott furrowed his brows and sighed before nodding as well.

“Boyd, I need you running surveillance, you’re the only one who knows how. But also, I know you don’t want to be far from Erica in case she needs you.” Boyd wrapped his arm around Erica’s shoulder and wasted no time in agreeing.

“And Derek, you need to stay with Ana.” Derek’s head snapped up from where he was staring steadfastly at the floor. He glared at Stiles before turning to look across the room to where Ana was sprawled out on the couch watching Finding Nemo. His face softened, but he didn’t concede.

“We’ll talk about this later, Stiles.” Derek turned around and walked over towards Ana. 

“But, Derek –”

“I said later,” Derek dismissed him and scooped up Ana, situating her on his lap while he settled in to watch the movie with her.

Stiles frowned, but led Scott, Boyd, and Erica upstairs to start looking into possible meeting locations. The pit in his stomach stayed with him all afternoon.


	40. Because of me

When Stiles returned from visiting the three potential meeting sites with Scott, Boyd, and Erica, the other groups had finished their meetings and were chatting happily in the living room. 

Ana rushed forward and met Stiles at the door. He knelt down so they were eye level and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Without missing a beat, he lifted her up and spun her around, causing her to laugh uncontrollably. 

When the two stopped spinning and Ana’s laughter had petered off, Stiles’ eyes raked over the pack until they found Derek. He was sitting in an armchair with his arms crossed, pointedly looking at the floor. 

John looked back and forth between the two and stood up quickly. “Well, Miss Claudia and I promised this little peanut some ice cream.” He waited until Stiles had put Ana down to grab her outstretched hand. 

Ana looked up at him with wide eyes. “Mister Sheriff, can Jackson come too?”

Jackson slunk back into the couch cushions. “Oh my god,” he whispered, horrified. 

Laura, who was sitting next to him, grinned and yelled loudly, “He would love to, Ana!” She pushed his shoulder until he was sitting upright. With a sigh, he stood and walked over towards Ana, who held her other hand up for Jackson to take.

He looked around, hopelessly lost, and took the girl’s hand.

“Awww,” cooed Cora mockingly. 

Jackson had just enough time to turn and glare at her before Ana led him and the Sheriff out the door. 

“Keith, Wallace, why don’t you boys come along as well,” suggested Claudia. “You’ve both been researching for days. It would be good for you to get some fresh air.”

The two exchanged surprised but grateful glances at the thought of being included, and agreed happily.

When they were gone, the rest of the pack broke off into side conversations. Stiles approached Derek cautiously. “Hey.”

Derek didn’t look up from the floor. “Hey.”

“Can we talk, Der?” Stiles came to a stop about a foot away from the arm of Derek’s chair.

“Not now,” he said, shaking his head sharply.

“But –”

“No, Stiles, I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Derek interrupted.

Derek’s harsh tone took Stiles by surprise. “Are you… are you mad at me?” When Derek didn’t respond, Stiles continued. “Why? What did I do?”

Derek looked up at him incredulously. “You really want to talk about this now?” 

Stiles nodded defiantly. “Yes! If I’ve done something wrong, I think I deserve to know what.”

Derek shot out of his seat. “Stiles, you didn’t – it’s not that… I just.” Derek pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “I can’t lose anyone else, Stiles. I’ve buried everyone I’ve ever loved and I can’t do it again!”

At this point, the rest of the pack had stopped talking and was staring at Derek in various levels of shock.

“Derek, what are you talking about?” Stiles asked softly.

Derek’s chest was heaving as he looked at Stiles with such a lost expression, it made Stiles want to kill everything and everyone who had ever hurt him. 

He stepped forward to grab Derek’s hands, but Derek took a step back, away from Stiles. 

“We’re not going to lose anyone,” Stiles whispered with conviction.

Derek shook his head harshly. “You can’t know that. We always lose someone. We lost Allison,” he looked at Stiles, imploring him to understand what he was trying to say.

Derek looked around the room, almost surprised to notice that there were other people there. His eyes locked with Erica’s.

“Erica, I carried your body out of the bank. I was supposed to teach you and protect you, and instead I got you killed.” The tears that had threatened to spill out of her eyes when Derek first started speaking now fell over her face rapidly.

Derek turned to Boyd, who was seated right next to her. “Boyd,” Derek croaked, looking down at his shaking hands. “I killed you. My hands –”

Boyd shook his head sadly as he locked eyes with his Alpha. Before he could refute Derek’s words, the man moved on to Talia.

“Mom.” Derek’s voice was wrecked now. “There wasn’t enough left of you to even identify. Because I was too stupid to see what was right in front of me. I just…” he trailed off, broken.

His eyes found Cora’s. “I thought you were dead for six years, Cora. Six years thinking I’d killed you.”

Laura whined, drawing Derek’s attention. “Laur. I should have come back to Beacon Hills with you. But I was afraid, so I let you come back by yourself. I found you in the woods, cut in half. I buried you, Laura. I buried you.”

Tears were falling freely from Derek’s face now. “And then I killed Peter. The last remaining Hale.” He looked at Peter’s face, surprised to find that the man was also crying softly. “I killed you, and then buried you under some loose floorboards. I mean, who does that?”

Derek finally rounded on Stiles. “Everyone in this room who has died, died because of me. I won’t have another person that I love die because of me.”

Stiles wiped the tears from his face and took a step towards Derek. This time, the man didn’t step back.

He struggled to keep his voice steady. “Because of you? Derek, this isn’t happening because of you.”

“I killed Isabelle,” Derek argued listlessly. 

Stiles shook his head fiercely. “You were protecting your pack, Derek.”

Derek looked away. 

“No, you don’t get to do that. Look at me.” Stiles took Derek’s face in his hands tenderly. 

He waited until Derek’s eyes met his own. “Whatever happens, it’s not your fault. You are a good man. And you have become an incredible Alpha. Derek, this is not your fault.”

Derek sniffled. “How can you do that?”

Stiles cocked his head to the side. “Do what?”

“Just… just absolve me of my guilt like that. Knowing everything that I’ve done, how can you do that?”

Stiles shrugged with a watery grin. “I’m your mate, dumbass. Isn’t that what we do?”

Derek chuckled humorlessly. He looked at Stiles in wonder, as if seeing him for the first time. 

The two shared a soft kiss, then rested their foreheads together with their eyes closed. They stayed like that for several seconds before a soft whine broke through their private veil.

“Can we join in on the love fest now?” Asked Erica with wide, tearful eyes.

Stiles motioned for them to join in, and soon Derek was engulfed in a pack hug, which surprisingly included Peter.

Dom, Talia, and Chris stood up to start dinner and leave the kids to their hug-turned-puppy-pile, only to be joined by Peter moments later.

After about 20 minutes, Isaac’s phone dinged with a text from Pahn reminding him of their dinner plans. Allison, Scott, Erica, and Boyd decided to tag along.

Cora and Lydia, who had been silently flirting with each other the whole time the pack was puppy piled, giggled quietly as they walked upstairs together in what they probably thought was a nonchalant fashion. 

Laura and Derek had fallen asleep on the couch cushions, so Grady and Stiles left them alone and wandered into the kitchen to play some cards at the kitchen table while the adults cooked dinner.

Not long after that, the front door opened and an excited Ana came running up to Stiles. “Stiles, Stiles! I got ice cream!” She yelled as she bounced up and down. 

“I can see that, sweetie,” Stiles said though a smile. He nodded gratefully after Talia slipped him a wet napkin. “Come here.”

He wiped the excess ice cream off Ana’s face as she continued to bounce.

“Hey, Ana?”

She cocked her head to the side.

“Derek was sad a little earlier. Do you know what would make him feel better?”

Ana shook her head sadly.

Stiles leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered, “Ana cuddles.”

The girl giggled and nodded, turning to run towards the living room.

Stiles watched as Ana considered Derek and Laura’s positions on the floor and laughed when she ultimately decided to wedge herself into the few inches that existed between them. 

Derek woke up to see what was jostling him, and beamed when he saw that it was Ana. He threw his arm across her and started tickling her mercilessly as she shrieked with laughter. Laura opened her eyes at the sound and joined in immediately when she saw what was happening. 

Stiles smiled to himself and picked up his abandoned cards. 

“Where’s Lydia?” Asked Jackson as he approached Stiles and Grady.

Stiles smirked. “Upstairs.”

Grady hid his smile behind his cards as he added cheekily, “With Cora.”

Jackson’s eyes grew wide and he turned and sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Grady and Stiles erupted into laughter, only to stop short when they noticed Talia giving them an unimpressed glare.


	41. She was wrong

Later that night, after Derek had tucked Ana into bed, Stiles and Derek disappeared into Derek’s room for some alone time before Stiles had to go home for the night. 

The Sheriff and Claudia had agreed that Stiles could spend a few nights a week at the pack house, but with the incoming threat, they were more anxious than ever to have Stiles home with them.

Derek was seated on the bed, facing the closed door. Stiles had just sat down on the man’s lap, with one leg on either side of his waist, when he noticed that Derek didn’t seem all too interested in their current activity. 

He leaned back on his heels. “Der? What’s wrong?”

Derek just shook his head with his lips pursed. “Nothing,” he said through gritted teeth. He leaned forward to capture Stiles’ lips in another kiss, but Stiles ducked away.

“Hey,” he whispered. “Talk to me.” He placed a hand on each side of Derek’s face tenderly. 

Derek steadfastly avoided Stiles’ eyes. He glared at the floor, not speaking.

Stiles rubbed his thumbs gently under Derek’s cheekbones and waited patiently until the man met his eyes. 

“What, Stiles?” Derek asked irritably. “This is what you want, isn’t it?” He gestured to himself as he leaned in to try and kiss the boy again.

Stiles ducked him a second time and took in Derek’s face, which went from irritated to confused in no time at all. 

“What I want?” He stood up and took a step back from the bed. “Well, I’m seventeen. Making out with my boyfriend is always what I want to do, but not if you don’t want to.”

Derek’s face cleared into a blank mask. The two just stared at each other for a few seconds before – 

“What do you mean?” His eyes betrayed no emotion, so Stiles took a deep breath and considered Derek carefully before responding.

“Der, you’re obviously upset about something, and you don’t want to do this right now, so we don’t have to. You get that, right?” Stiles approached the bed slowly and sat down on the edge, not touching Derek.

The façade broke slightly, and Stiles caught a glimpse of confusion and vulnerability on Derek’s face.

“But you want to,” the man whispered, staring at the floor.

Stiles nodded. “I do. But if you don’t want to, we won’t,” he said simply, in a tone that left no room for argument.

The two sat silently on the bed. Derek seemed to be working through some issues in his head, so Stiles took a second to go through Derek’s past relationships to see where he had learned that what he wanted didn’t matter.

Paige. Stiles shook his head subtly. Derek and Paige were young and in love – it seemed unlikely that either of them would have ever passed up an opportunity to be alone with one another, and from everything Derek had told him, Paige was one of the good ones.

Braeden. Stiles cocked his head to the side and considered that for only a moment. Braeden was a good person, and she and Derek’s relationship seemed to have been almost exclusively physical, so Stiles pushed that option aside.

Which left Kate and Jennifer. Stiles balled his hands up into fists and bit his lip to keep from making any noise of outrage. Of course it was those two. If Jennifer putting a love spell on him didn’t leave Derek with some severe emotional wounds, Kate convincing him that they were in love and taking advantage of him at such a young age definitely would have. 

“She always said…” Derek whispered, almost to himself. “She always said I should want it. And that if I didn’t, it meant I didn’t really love her.”

Stiles didn’t have to ask who “she” was. He turned on the bed to face Derek.

“She was wrong,” Stiles told him firmly. Derek was still glaring a hole in the floor. “Can I touch your face? Is that ok?”

Stiles waited until Derek nodded almost imperceptibly. He took the man’s face in his hands and turned it until they were looking at each other. Without displacing Stiles’ hands from his face, Derek shifted so he was facing Stiles completely.

“As long as we’re together, you will always have a say in what we do. I promise. Ok?” 

Derek nodded slightly, but still looked somewhat skeptical, like it was all a trick.

The corner of Stiles’ mouth curved up in a smile. “Do you know why?”

Derek shook his head, nearly dislodging the tears that had been welling up in his eyes.

“Because I love you.”

Derek closed his eyes and smiled involuntarily. Stiles used his thumb to brush away one of the tears that had fallen before it had a chance to reach the man’s cheekbone. 

“Yeah?” Derek breathed without opening his eyes.

“Yeah,” Stiles confirmed. His eyes raked over Derek’s face, as if trying to memorize it. The worry lines were gone from his forehead and his mouth was still turned up in a small, private smile.

Derek opened his eyes and placed his hands on Stiles’ face, mirroring Stiles’ position. 

“I love you, Stiles.” Derek tried to keep a straight face through the confession, but was powerless to stop himself from grinning like a lunatic.

“C’mere,” Stiles nodded towards the head of the bed. He and Derek scooted back until they were lying side by side on the bed. Stiles maneuvered Derek until he was spooning the man, who didn’t protest. He tightened his arms around Derek and placed his forehead on the back of his neck. 

They breathed together for so long without speaking that Stiles lost track of time. Before he knew it, he could hear the soft puffs of air that indicated Derek was asleep. 

As much as he didn’t want to leave, he had promised his mom and dad that he would stay with them tonight. Plus, he had to prepare for his phone call with Eleanor that he was somehow supposed to take in the middle of his Econ class. 

With a heavy sigh, he extracted himself from behind Derek carefully and looked around for a piece of paper. After writing a short note, he grabbed the blanket off the edge of the bed and tucked it around Derek tightly.

Stiles jogged down the stairs with a permanent smile on his face and went home happily with his parents.

When Derek awoke the next morning, he turned around in the bed and found a note on Stiles’ pillow.

“My Sourwolf,  
Had to head home with my parents. I’ll call you in the morning on my way to school. I love you.  
Your Stiles”


	42. Tomorrow

“Ew, are you the reason my brother has been smiling all morning?” Cora asked without preamble as she piled into Stiles’ car behind Isaac and Boyd. 

Erica snorted and climbed into the front seat. “Stiles, he was humming. Humming.”

Stiles turned to face the two with an innocent expression on his face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He started the car and asked nonchalantly, “Where is he this morning?”

Erica rolled her eyes and ignored him.

“He’s inside. He and Ana are taking their pre-breakfast nap in the living room,” said Cora, still eyeing Stiles speculatively. “Seriously, what happened last night? Why was he so happy this morning?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure what you mean by ‘happy,’ Cora,” Stiles hedged. “I mean, how would you compare his mood to, I don’t know… Jackson’s?”

That earned him a howl from Isaac and chuckle from Boyd, which made the rest of the ride with Cora kicking his seat mercilessly almost worth it.

One of the benefits of having the parents in on all the supernatural shenanigans was being able to have the Sheriff write notes for Stiles to get out of class whenever he needed to deal with something pack-related. As such, Stiles was excused from class at 9:45am and left to wait for Scott in the jeep until Eleanor called at 10:00am.

Scott joined him a few minutes before the phone rang shrilly on the dashboard. 

Stiles accepted the call and put it on speaker. “Hello, Eleanor.”

“Stiles. What are my options for the meeting?” Her voice was no less harsh than it had been in the last call.

“South entrance of the Preserve, 100 yards west of the gate - there’s a clearing there we can use. The woods behind the lacrosse field at the high school - the school should be cleared out by 8:00pm. Or the clearing by the cliffs on our eastern borderline by the main road leading into Beacon Hills.”

“Very well,” she responded curtly. “I will give you our answer by noon today. You will be bringing two other representatives from the pack?”

Stiles frowned and met Scott’s eyes. “There will be three pack members there, yes,” he evaded. He and Talia had decided that it was best if Eleanor didn’t know who would be at the meeting.

“And from the coven?”

There was a pause before she responded. “Three,” he confirmed in a similarly evasive tone before hanging up.

Stiles sat back in his seat and exhaled loudly.

“Which meeting place do you think they’ll choose?” Scott mirrored his position slumped back into the seat.

Stiles considered the options for a moment. “The high school.”

Scott nodded. “The south entrance to the Preserve is too close to the pack house for them. You don’t think they’ll go for the cliffs? They’re so paranoid about us attacking them, and that’s the hardest venue for combat.”

“It also doesn’t provide them with an easy escape route,” Stiles noted.

Scott agreed silently. “You going back to class?”

“Yup,” Stiles sighed wearily. “I don’t want to miss anymore class than I have to. Especially since there’s a possibility we’ll be fighting tomorrow night and I want the option of taking Friday off post-witchy altercation.”

Scott patted him on the back but made no move to exit the car. 

“Hey, how are you doing with the whole human again thing?” Stiles asked him.

He shrugged. “It kind of sucks having asthma again. Coach is really confused by my sudden lack of athletic ability.” 

The two laughed for a moment before sighing in tandem and walking back into the school.

At noon, Stiles received a text that simply read: “The Preserve. 7:00pm.”

He agreed and passed along the message to the rest of the pack.

Getting through the last few hours of school seemed impossible. Stiles was anxious about something, but couldn’t put his finger on exactly what. It wasn’t until he arrived back at the Hale house with Ana running full speed at him with a new drawing in her hand that he realized what it was.

“The wards.” He stopped short, picking Ana up and swinging her onto his hip out of habit while he zombie-walked into the kitchen.

Jackson and Derek were cleaning up the colored pencils when they caught sight of Stiles’ face.

Derek cocked his head to the side. “What did you say?” If Stiles had been paying attention, he would have seen that Derek’s face was softer than it had been even a day ago.

Jackson frowned. “He said ‘the wards.’” He shook his head. “What wards, Stiles, what’s wrong?”

Stiles answered distractedly while he helped Ana pin up her new drawing to the fridge. “Well, I figured some of the witches would have come to look at the three possible meeting sites. But none of my proximity wards went off.”

Jackson dropped the colored pencils and whipped his head around to look out the window. “If they can get past the wards, they could be anywhere.”

He was halfway to the door when Stiles stopped him. He waved his free hand and shut the patio door. “No, I don’t think so.”

Talia wandered in from the library. “What do you mean?”

Stiles readjusted Ana on his hip and elaborated. “I mean I can still feel the wards. The ones on this house, other pack houses, and the perimeter. They’re all working.”

Derek sat down at the table and ran his hands through his hair. Since Stiles was still a seventeen year old boy, he swooned involuntarily despite the seriousness of the situation.

Jackson snapped his fingers from the other side of the table. “Stiles, stow your libido.”

“Boys,” Talia admonished, taking Ana from Stiles and placing her on the counter, where she hummed a song from The Lion King to herself quietly.

“Right, sorry,” said Stiles. “They’re all working, which means they have at least one human in their coven, or working for their coven.”

Talia nodded. “Alright. Jackson?” Jackson’s head popped up and he raised his eyebrows, awaiting a command. “Get the pack here now. We need to go over our plan for tomorrow one more time.”

Jackson nodded and left the room with his phone in his hand.

Talia excused herself to go check their arsenal out back, leaving Stiles and Derek alone with Ana.

Stiles walked towards the kitchen table to greet his boyfriend properly. He kissed the man while cradling his jaw tenderly. Derek’s hand met Stiles’ head and gripped his hair.

Derek whined when Stiles broke the kiss. “So, Derek. We go to war tomorrow,” he said dramatically, flinging him over the counter and eliciting a laugh from Ana. “What do you want to do on our last night on earth?”

Derek made a mock serious face. “We can do anything in the whole world?”

Stiles and Ana nodded.

“And I get to choose?”

They nodded a second time.

“I want to make cookies.”

Stiles laughed and pulled Derek in for another kiss while Ana celebrated the cookies she would be eating in the near future.

“What kind?” Stiles asked as he made his way to the pantry.

Derek hopped up onto the counter next to Ana. “What do you think, Ana? Peanut Butter?”

Ana scrunched up her nose. “Uh-uh, I’m ‘lergic to peanut butter.”

Derek’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Oh, really? So how come you ate the peanut butter and jelly sandwich Erica made for you the other day? Huh, munchkin?” He tweaked her nose and awaited her response.

She looked around shiftily. “Fine! You don’t make ‘em right. Only Auntie Laura makes peanut butter cookies right.”

Derek gasped and donned a feigned hurt look before jumping off the counter and picking Ana up, causing the girl to giggle uncontrollably. They spun around until Ana cried out, “Okay, okay, we can make peanut butter cookies!”

Derek laughed and put Ana back down on the counter. He placed a soft kiss to the top of her head and ruffled her hair before walking across the kitchen to help a grinning Stiles finish taking the ingredients out of the pantry. 

The two sobered up quickly and Stiles sighed. “So, tomorrow.”

Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist and kissed his temple. “Tomorrow.”


	43. A lot to fight for

Stiles was only able to make it through the school day because Derek had promised to update him every half hour while the rest of the pack worked on their last-ditch attempt to break the spell that had turned them all human again.

There weren’t many reports on that front, but Derek made sure to include Ana updates as well, which helped calm Stiles. The fact that Ana’s status was so unclear had caused Stiles and Derek quite a bit of anxiety over the past few days.

Would the coven demand to have her back? What if they didn’t even bring her up? What if they used Ana as an excuse to attack the pack? Was the coven really stupid enough to try and infiltrate the pack house to get her back?

These questions and many, many more had caused Stiles to shake his leg nervously for so long in Econ, even Isaac was having trouble focusing on anything else. 

“Stiles,” he hissed from beside the boy. “Calm down, you’re driving me crazy with the fidgeting.”

Stiles took the pen out of his mouth and put his empty hand on top of his leg to try and stow the jiggling. “I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I’m just feeling really anxious.”

Isaac’s face softened. “I know, man. You’ve got a lot riding on this meeting.”

Stiles nodded. “We all do.”

“Yeah, well, with you and Derek together, and now with Ana here, there’s certainly a lot for you to fight for.” Isaac looked down and fidgeted with a loose string on his sweater.

“Hey,” Stiles whispered, waiting until Isaac met his eyes. “I’m fighting for you too, you know.”

Isaac smirked, but his eyes betrayed just how much that meant to him. “Yeah. Likewise, man.”

Stiles clapped him on the shoulder and made it through the rest of the school day without incident.

No one had been successful in finding a cure for their current human predicament, so they were forced to put thoughts of being human forever out of their minds and steel themselves to potentially fight this coven as humans.

The mood was tense at the pack house when Stiles arrived with Cora, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd after school. Stiles was taken aback when Laura rushed to him immediately and wrapped her arms around his neck. She sniffled pitifully until Stiles’ own arms wrapped around her back. After they separated, Lydia replaced Laura. Stiles found himself being systematically hugged by various members of the pack for the next few minutes. 

John, Chris, and Allison had grabbed most of the weapons in their arsenal and were spreading them out on the kitchen table and counters, dividing them into groups. 

Peter and Dom were on the phone with Kira and Malia, going over everything they had learned one more time to make sure there were no surprises. The biggest question mark on the day would be the Alpha werewolf Malia had smelled with the coven. 

Stiles got out of the way of the weapon distribution in the kitchen and moved to stand by Cora. Cora whined softly under her breath, so softly Stiles would have missed it if he hadn’t been standing right next to her. Before he could do anything, he saw Jackson’s head shoot up from across the room at the sound. Jackson strode over to Cora quickly and engulfed her in a tight embrace, pulling the girl to his chest with a tenderness Stiles never would have thought possible from the young wolf.

Stiles found Derek and sat down on the couch next to him. Ana was on the floor playing with Erica and Boyd. Derek took Stiles’ hand and intertwined their fingers. The two sat there for a while in silence, watching Ana and Derek’s betas play.

At 6:00pm, Stiles hugged Ana and left her in the care of his mother, Wallace, and Keith.

Derek kissed the top of her head. “You be good for Miss Claudia, okay munchkin?”

Ana nodded sadly. “’kay.”

Derek had just turned around when he heard Ana sniffle. “Derek?”

Stiles stopped in the doorway and Derek turned back towards Ana. 

“You guys are going to fight my mama, aren’t you?” Ana looked down at the floor.

Derek walked over to Ana and knelt down so he was at eye level. “We’re going to talk to your mama. We don’t want to fight.”

Ana nodded, not meeting his eyes. “Am I gonna have to go back with her?” She whispered.

Stiles’ hand shot up to his mouth and his eyes started to water at the sight of Ana’s terrified face.

“Do you want to?” Derek asked gently.

Ana flung her arms around Derek’s neck desperately. “No! Please don’t make me go back there, I want to stay with you! I’ll be good, I promise, just please don’t make me go!”

Derek wrapped his arms around her tightly and stood up, taking the girl with him. He stood there holding her until her sobs petered out into hiccups. 

“Ana, you don’t have to go with them if you don’t want to,” he whispered fiercely into her hair. He rocked Ana back and forth for a few minutes, before they really had to go meet the others who had already left to set up at the meeting site.

Ana nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Claudia emerged from the kitchen and took Ana into the basement, where she would remain for the meeting just in case they needed to get her to the panic room.

Derek walked Stiles outside and pulled him into a sweeping kiss. Stiles was panting when they separated, but pulled Derek back in for another, needing to kiss the man more than he needed to breathe. 

Their foreheads rested together as they held each other loosely. Without opening his eyes, Derek kissed the tip of Stiles’ nose. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you,” Stiles responded just as quietly.

With one last quick peck, Stiles turned and ran off into the woods to meet Talia, who would be waiting with him a few hundred feet from the meeting point while Chris, Peter, and Jackson handled the actual meeting. 

When he made it to Talia, he took out his phone and pulled up the camera and sound feeds from the clearing in the preserve. The two sat on a fallen log and watched as Chris, Peter, and Jackson made their way into the sight of the camera. 

Stiles clicked over to another camera and saw three figures making their way to the clearing from the other side. There was one tall male figure, and two female figures. One of the females looked like she would rather be anywhere else in the world, while the other had a cold, detached look in her eyes.

Jackson and Peter flanked Chris, which had been decided by the three before the meeting. Stiles spoke into his phone, which was connected to the earpieces in Jackson, Chris, and Peter’s ears, and saw the three give him the signal that they had heard him.

Talia received a text from Scott indicating that John and Allison and their teams confirmed that they could hear Scott and Boyd as well.

“Which one of you is Eleanor?” Chris asked with authority in his voice.

The indifferent-looking woman, who was flanked by the other two, responded with a sneer. “Eleanor couldn’t make it. I am Alyssa.” She gestured to the woman on her left. “This is Liz, and that,” she pointed at the man on her right, “Is Hector.”

Peter sniffed pointedly. “Hector is a werewolf. We were under the impression we would be meeting with three members of the coven.”

“Three representatives of the coven, yes.” Alyssa replied coldly. “And you are?”

“That’s Peter,” Chris replied. “My name is Chris, and to my left is Jackson.”

“No Stiles?” Asked Alyssa. “What, he thought we’d be more intimidated by two wolves and an experienced hunter?” She sneered and huffed out a derisive laugh.

“Oh, please,” scoffed Peter. “If we wanted to intimidate you, we would have sent the women.”

Jackson smothered a laugh with his hand while Chris closed his eyes in resignation. 

Liz ignored him and whispered sharply to Alyssa, “I thought you said they didn’t have wolves in the pack anymore.”

Hector smirked. “They have at least two.” He tilted his head to the side and sniffed the air carefully. “Hmm… there’s another one nearby. Not close, but close enough.”

Without warning, Hector took off in the direction of the scent. Talia’s scent. Talia looked up at Stiles with wide eyes and shifted into her full wolf form in preparation for a fight.

Back in the clearing, Peter took off after Hector without a moment’s hesitation.

“Peter, no!” Chris yelled.

Just like that, Alyssa smiled menacingly and raised her hand to strike.


	44. Slightly different orders

Stiles was torn between watching the screen and waiting for the signal from Talia to run. He saw Jackson shift into his beta form and Chris draw one of his weapons, before Liz stepped forward.

“Wait,” she implored Alyssa. Her hands were raised as she stepped in front of the impatient witch.

With that momentary respite, Stiles was able to turn his attention to Talia, who was in wolf form and was listening intently for signs of Hector’s approach. 

She growled under her breath and held a paw up towards Stiles, who assumed that meant for him to stay where he was, and took off.

Alone now, Stiles decided to head for higher ground and started climbing a large tree a little closer to the meeting sight. He couldn’t hear Talia, Hector, or Peter, so he tried his best not to worry about the wolves so he could focus on the meeting. 

As he climbed, he heard Liz talking to Alyssa, telling her that Eleanor had sent them to talk to the pack and try and form a truce, not to attack them. 

“That’s what she told you, you idiot,” Alyssa sneered. “I have slightly different orders.”

Chris kept his gun raised, but Jackson shifted back into his human form. 

“There’s no reason we can’t work this out peacefully,” he said, holding a hand out towards Chris to keep him at bay. “We can overlook Hector’s act of aggression. And given that no one in the pack is badly injured by him, we can still work this out.” His eyes never left Alyssa’s.

“Chris, see if you can get her to tell you how many they’ve brought with them,” Stiles whispered into his mouthpiece. He saw Chris nod slightly in response.

Chris took a step forward. “You’re outnumbered, Alyssa. You can’t possibly hope to win a fight against a werewolf pack with only two witches and a rogue Alpha.”

Again, Alyssa just sneered. “Two of us? Try a dozen.” She looked down at her watch and smirked. “And thanks to Hector’s little distraction, the others should already be at your pack house.”

Stiles jumped down from the tree and started sprinting towards the house. He called out to Scott, who had already ordered John and Allison to send two of their group each back towards the pack house after Hector took off. 

Relieved, Stiles continued to sprint. Boyd rattled off that Allison had sent Laura and Lydia to the house, while John had sent Isaac and Dom. 

Stiles could hear the sound of gunfire and the unmistakable crack of magic from the microphones hooked up in the clearing. He had to trust that Jackson, Chris, Allison, Grady, Cora, and his dad could take care of Alyssa and Liz.

He made it to the pack house to find that some of his runes had been disabled. Stiles shook his head, wondering how he could have been so distracted that he hadn’t felt them turn off. He should have thought of that possibility once they knew the coven had a human working for them. 

A human who possessed some magical skill, but was not a fully trained witch, would not have triggered his perimeter runes. But they could have easily snuck up on a werewolf-less house and disabled all the runes they could find while everyone was focused on the meeting. 

Stiles was pleased to note as he approached the driveway, that some of his runes – the ones he had hidden more thoroughly – were still perfectly intact. He saw one witch hanging upside down by her ankle about fifty feet off the ground. Since Stiles knew she would be magically unconscious until he uttered the counter incantation to get her down, he left her there for now.

According to Alyssa’s count, that meant there were nine witches still unaccounted for.

He looked towards the garage and laughed when he saw that his favorite ward had also been triggered. He saw a blonde witch in her thirties with her foot caught in a faux bear trap, holding her in place while five baseball bats took turns trying to knock her over the head. Stiles left her alone as well – the bear trap would keep her locked there until she got too tired to fight the bats and was eventually knocked out.

Two down, eight to go.

Stiles heard a thump behind him, and turned around to see the body of a witch not ten feet away. She was clearly dead, and Stiles could just barely make out the red cloud of whatever sinister spell she had been attempting to cast dissipating from her hand, since she was killed just before she could complete it.

Stiles looked around wildly for his rescuer, only to find Erica on the roof with her sniper rifle. He nodded at her grimly in thanks. She returned the nod sadly, and disappeared further back onto the roof to comb the rest of the perimeter.

Three down, seven to go.

“Report,” he yelled into his mouthpiece, stopping just outside the front door.

Their contingency plan dictated that Boyd report in first, but who Stiles most wanted to hear from was his mother, who was with Ana.

“Allison and Grady have bows under control in the clearing,” said Boyd quickly. “Liz appears to be a nonentity, so Allison’s sending Grady to assist at the house. Laura’s comms are down, but Lydia reported that they have taken down two out back by the shooting range.”

“Good,” replied Stiles. “Send Grady to them when he arrives. That means we’ve got five left at the house. Scott?”

“Your dad reported that he and Cora are staying in the clearing – guns seem to have more effect on Alyssa than bows. Isaac and Dom are at the house, they’ve reported one confirmed kill and are running the perimeter before coming inside.”

“Ok, that’s four left. Derek?” Stiles held his breath, nervous that he hadn’t seen Derek with Erica on the roof.

There was no response from Derek. 

“Derek?” Stiles tried again with desperation in his voice.

Still no response.

“Erica, where’s Derek?” He asked through his panic.

“Not sure,” she responded hesitantly. “We saw the first witch come through the tree line and he took her out, but then he ran into the house.”

Stiles noted absently that this news brought them to three witches left. “Mom? Report. Is Derek with you and Ana?”

“Yes,” she replied after a few seconds. “Derek is down with me and Ana. We have Melissa, Wallace, and Keith as well.” 

Stiles breathed out a sigh of relief. “Is everyone ok?”

“Yeah,” Claudia responded. “We can hear one set of footsteps upstairs. We moved into the panic room after Derek came down. He left his comms on the roof.”

“Stay there,” Stiles instructed. “Scott, Boyd, are you both still upstairs?”

“Yes,” said Boyd. “Where do you want us?”

“Mom, did Derek leave his rifle on the roof?” Stiles asked.

There was a muffled conversation Stiles couldn’t make out before his mom responded that he had.

“Boyd, take Derek’s place on the roof. We’ve got two witches unaccounted for. Scott, do you have a weapon?”

“Yeah, I have one of Chris’ guns,” he replied.

Stiles nodded. “Good. Meet me in the kitchen; we’ll take out the witch on the main floor.”

“Got it.”

Stiles peered in through the window and saw no signs of life inside. He opened the front door quietly and stuck to the inside wall as he made his way to the foot of the stairs by the kitchen. He brought his spark to his fingertips and waited for Scott.

Scott appeared silently with his gun drawn. He cocked his head to the side, quietly asking Stiles if he’d seen the witch. Stiles shook his head and they scanned the first floor from the bottom of the staircase.

Stiles felt the rush of air that usually precedes a spell and grabbed Scott and pulled him to the floor, just as the wall above his head exploded.

They looked around for their attacker and saw a woman retreat behind one of the couches in the living room. Scott pulled Stiles behind the kitchen island to regroup.

Stiles sent a spell towards the couch to change its appearance. Once it was transparent, they could see the witch clearly. She panicked and threw a spell over the top of the couch, missing Stiles by a few feet.

The witch relocated to the coffee table and raised her hand to strike again. This time, the spell hit Scott squarely in the chest. 

Scott’s eyes widened in horror as he was thrown back into the window behind him. He bounced off the glass and landed on the ground at Stiles’ feet. Before Stiles could so much as ask if he was ok, Scott rose to his feet with a dead expression on his face.

His cold, lifeless eyes met Stiles’ as Scott raised his gun and pointed it slowly at Stiles. 

Stiles looked around wildly and found the witch grinning at him from across the room.

“Scotty, don’t! I know you’re in there, man, you don’t have to do this!” Stiles frantically tried to get to his feet, but kept slipping in his haste. 

He could hear Boyd yelling into his earpiece, and the unmistakable sound of someone running down the stairs, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from Scott’s face. There was no sign of his best friend in them.

Scott cocked his head to the side thoughtfully and pulled the trigger.


	45. The better shot

Stiles hadn’t even registered that Boyd had made it all the way down the stairs before he saw him jump in between Stiles and the gun. 

Stiles threw his hand up and focused all his energy on slowing down the bullet, but he still heard Boyd cry out as it hit his back. 

Scott had barely blinked before Stiles had disarmed him and knocked him out using a variation of an unconsciousness spell he had never tried before. Deaton had taught him the spell as an offensive weapon, but Stiles didn’t want to hurt Scott.

With Scott lying unconscious at his feet, Stiles turned his attention to the witch, who was still eyeing him from across the room. She looked at Scott curiously, and Stiles used the temporary distraction to aim a much more potent spell at her, which hit her right in the stomach. She doubled over in pain, incapacitated. 

Stiles crouched down by Boyd and saw that the bullet had just barely penetrated his skin. As a werewolf, he would have healed instantly. As a human, it would likely hurt quite a lot for a few weeks without magical interference. Stiles pulled the bullet out and used his spark to close up Boyd’s skin. There would be a scar, but it could have been much worse.

The witch was writhing on the floor, still feeling the effects of Stiles’ spell. 

“You hex my friend, I boil your blood. That’s the deal,” he said as he towered over her. 

Boyd had recovered enough to pull Scott over to the corner of the kitchen out of the way. 

“You monster!” The witch gritted out though screams of pain.

“We’re the monsters?” Boyd raised his voice just enough so he could be heard over her screaming.

She clutched at her stomach. “You killed Eleanor’s sister, then kidnapped her daughter. What did you expect us to do, just let you live?”

Stiles waved his hand and stopped the spell, but bound her hands and feet together with rope he pulled out of thin air. “Is that what she told you?” He cocked his head to the side.

“That’s what I know to be true. All werewolves are monsters. Ana belongs with us, and you deserve to die.” She struggled futilely against the ropes.

Stiles just shook his head and motioned for Boyd to help him get her into the library. He locked the door with his spark and got back on his comms.

“Ok, everyone, two witches left at the house. Chris, Dad, Allison, any update on your end?”

“We got Alyssa,” replied Allison, out of breath. “Jackson took a pretty bad hit and I think Cora’s arm might be broken, but everyone else is just bumps and bruises.”

“What about Liz?” Stiles asked.

It was Chris who answered. “She surrendered when the fighting started. We’re bringing her in with us.”

“Got it. Any word on Talia and Peter? They both ran after Hector.”

“Nope,” said Allison. “My dad and I are going to track them now.”

“Ok. The rest of you, get back here with Alyssa and Liz, but be careful. There are still two witches unaccounted for and they aren’t in the house. Mom, you still there?” 

“I’m here,” she replied immediately.

Stiles looked at his unconscious best friend and sighed. “Send Derek up with Wallace and Keith. Scott’s okay but he’s unconscious. We need to get him down to the panic room until I can remove the spell.”

Boyd went back down with Wallace and Keith as they toted Scott, so Melissa could take a look at his bullet wound, while Derek took his place on the main floor. 

Derek was still fussing over Stiles, trying to check him for injuries, when a small voice sounded from the top of the basement staircase. 

“Stiles?”

Stiles whipped around. “Ana!” He shook his head. She must have slipped out of the panic room when they were bringing Scott in. “You need to get back downstairs right now.” He strode towards her with his arms outstretched, and she didn’t hesitate before running into them.

Stiles picked her up and situated her on his hip. Before they could take a step towards the stairs, Stiles heard a much colder voice call out from the front door. 

“So you’re Stiles?”

Derek ran to put himself between Stiles and Ana and the witch, who strode into the living room like she owned the place. She wasn’t physically imposing, but her fiery red hair and cocky posture made it clear who they were speaking to. 

“Mama?” Ana whimpered. She buried her head into Stiles’ neck as she started trembling.

“Get her out of here,” Derek hissed. 

Stiles shifted Ana so she wasn’t exposed to Eleanor. “I’m not leaving you, Derek,” he whispered back fiercely.

Eleanor waved her hand once and the stairs to the basement gave way, cutting off their escape to the panic room.

Stiles grabbed Derek’s arm and sprinted out the glass door in the kitchen. He threw a barrier spell behind him as they took off towards the shed. 

“Erica, can you see us from the roof?” Stiles yelled into his mouthpiece as he ran.

“I’ve got you,” she confirmed. 

“Laura, Lydia, Grady, we need some backup. You three still by the shooting range? We’re at the shed.”

It was a few seconds before someone responded. “We were ambushed by the other witch,” Grady yelled. “Isaac’s with us now, but she’s strong!”

Stiles looked around the training area, but the fight must have pushed them back into the trees. “Ok, stay there. Erica’s got us. Dad?”

“Yeah, son?”

“Tell Liz to mend the stairs to the basement as a condition of her surrender. Get Cora and Jackson to Melissa and put Liz in the cages for now. You can leave Alyssa in the library. Just say my real first name to open the door.” 

“Got it,” he replied. “Then where do you want me?” 

Stiles considered his options. “The roof,” he decided. “Laura’s group needs cover and you should be able to see them from up there. Right, Erica?”

“Yes, I can see them,” she replied immediately. “It looks like it’s getting nasty. We may want to send Wallace and Keith over with some weapons.”

“I’ll get them when we bring Cora and Jackson down,” the Sheriff confirmed.

Stiles nodded and peered around the shed. He’d laid a quicksand trap out, so Eleanor would have to bog through it to get to them. She was halfway through, which gave them about five minutes to think of a plan.

“Derek, take Ana and run to the garage. She’s not safe out here.” He shifted Ana into Derek’s arms. 

Derek shook his head adamantly. “I’m not leaving you here alone, Stiles.”

Stiles took Derek’s face in his hands gently. “I need you to,” he whispered. “You’re no match for her when you’re human, and I can’t fight her if I’m worried about both you and Ana.”

Derek closed his eyes. He opened them and let his gaze drift down to the still-trembling little girl in his arms. Slowly, he nodded with a deep sigh.

“And besides,” Stiles said as they stepped back from each other. “I’m not alone. I have Erica.”

Derek chuckled. “Yeah, your Catwoman would never let anything happen to you.”

“That’s right.” Stiles leaned in and planted a short kiss on Derek’s mouth, and another on Ana’s forehead.

The two ran around the shed to take cover in the garage just as his Dad reported that he was on the roof and Alyssa and Liz had been dealt with as they’d planned.

Stiles could make out two Wallace and Keith shaped figures running just through the tree line, around Eleanor towards the shooting range. 

He stepped out from behind the shed to face Eleanor, who was almost out of the quicksand. 

“We don’t have to do this,” he told her, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

Eleanor just laughed and slogged her way closer to him. “Oh, honey, of course we do. You have my child. I’m well within my rights to attack a werewolf pack that kidnapped my little girl, aren’t I?” She batted her eyes at him innocently.

“Oh, yeah? And what was your sister’s excuse for attacking us in the Preserve? We didn’t even know Ana existed back then.” Stiles smirked when Eleanor’s face curled into an ugly sneer.

The witch stood still, eyeing Stiles speculatively. Finally, her façade broke and she spat angrily, “You need to be put down. No one survives what you have without turning into a threat to supernatural creatures everywhere. You still have the Nogitsune inside of you. What kind of coven leader would I be if I allowed someone like you to live?”

Stiles cocked his head to the side and studied Eleanor. Suddenly, he understood. “No, that’s not it.” He laughed. “If that was the real reason, you would have looked to other covens and packs to help you. The supernatural community has ways of dealing with people you’re describing.”

Eleanor huffed and resumed her trek through the sludge.

“You’re threatened by me.” Stiles could help the grin that spread over his face. “That’s the only explanation. You think I’m stronger than you and you can’t stand it.”

Eleanor faltered momentarily before recovering. “It doesn’t matter! You may be stronger than me with your pack behind you, but once we defeat you, you’ll be nothing. You’ll be begging me to let you join my coven.”

Stiles looked around sarcastically. “Once you defeat us? Look around you, Eleanor. You’re the only one left standing. You and whoever my pack is fighting over there,” he waved his hand absently towards the trees past the shooting range.

Instead of deflating as Stiles would have thought, Eleanor smiled. “Oh, you mean Meredith?” Eleanor’s eyes widened as her smile expanded, giving her a slightly manic demeanor. “Meredith is my protégé. Next in line to lead the coven. If you think I’m ruthless, wait until you meet her. I hope you said your goodbyes to the ones she’s fighting.” Eleanor tilted her head back and laughed feverishly. 

“I’ve got a shot,” Erica whispered into his ear. “Just give me the signal.”

Stiles shook his head. “Not yet,” he whispered back.

He held his hands up passively. “Eleanor, we can still stop this. No one in our pack has been killed. Please don’t make me kill you. I don’t want to be responsible for killing Ana’s mother.”

“What do you care about Ana? She’s my daughter, not yours,” Eleanor sneered. 

“Yeah, and what a great mother you’ve been to her, huh? Keeping her isolated from other kids her age, not letting her play with toys or draw, constantly telling her what she was doing was wrong. You let her loose in the territory of a pack you knew nothing about! She was lucky to get away from you with her life!” Stiles’ chest was heaving when he finished. 

Tired of Stiles’ tirade, Eleanor raised her hands to strike. Erica shot at the ground by Eleanor’s feet, which gave Stiles some time to catch up to what was happening and prepare a counter-attack.

Stiles shot a spell at Eleanor, aiming to incapacitate, not kill. The spell missed her when she ducked. Eleanor retaliated by sending a particularly nasty smelling hex towards Stiles. Stiles just barely had enough time to dodge it before it exploded against the side of the shed, leaving a gaping hole in the wood.

Diving through the hole for cover, Stiles shot a spell over his shoulder that he heard hit its mark. He peeked through the hole and saw Eleanor doubled over, gasping for air. Stepping out of the hole, he approached her cautiously.

Eleanor conjured up a cloud of white air that hovered over her before engulfing her body completely. When the cloud dissipated, Eleanor was fully upright and no longer had to fight to breathe. She allowed herself a brief grin before attacking Stiles once more. 

Stiles felt his spark fading; he had only used this much magic once before, and he was unconscious for almost a day when he was finished. If he didn’t preserve his energy, he would die.

Figuring that he had maybe two big spells left in him, he put half of his energy into a protection spell and grimaced as he thought about the offensive spell he would have to cast on Eleanor shortly.

Eleanor struck, sending a wave of black towards Stiles’ stomach. It hit his protective barrier, but still sent Stiles flying into the shed doors, knocking the wind out of him. 

Stiles heard a loud, “No!” through his earpiece, before a soft puff of air sounded in the backyard from the roof. He looked up to find Eleanor, with the ghost of a triumphant smile on her face, fall forward onto her knees.

The light left her eyes slowly as her body slumped forward. Stiles could clearly make out the bullet wound in the middle of her forehead. 

He looked up towards the roof, still gasping for air. Stiles saw his father peek out from behind his rifle, nodding grimly. 

“Switched with Erica, huh?” Stiles attempted a laugh, but it came out as a gasp.

“Yeah,” replied his dad. “Nobody messes with my kid. Besides, she’s the better shot, so we figured she should cover the fight that was further away.”

Before Stiles could respond, he heard Erica shout though the earpiece. “Stiles!”

“What is it, what’s wrong?” He asked groggily, rising to his feet. 

“Laura’s down.”


	46. Go, try

Stiles took off into a full sprint towards the tree line by the shooting range. He only slowed down to a run when he could see Isaac, Lydia, and Wallace shooting at a figure behind a large tree; Lydia with her bow, the other two with guns. Grady and Keith were bent over a body that didn’t seem to be moving.

Once Stiles got close enough to the body to confirm that it was Laura, his vision became distorted and he saw red. He balled his hands into fists and could feel the flames over his knuckles that he had conjured up from his core. 

Keith looked up, frightened, and scrambled to get away from Stiles in his current state. 

As Stiles approached the body, he heard laughing coming from the witch, Meredith. Without breaking his stride, he launched the bewitched flames at her, but didn’t even pause long enough to watch her explode into dust.

Stiles lowered himself down at Laura’s head just as he started to feel dizzy. His spark was drained, but he didn’t want to give into the darkness. He needed to make sure Laura was alive. 

He reached out to grab Laura’s hand, but pulled back when he saw that his own hand was glowing bright red. He held his hand up to the ray of light bursting through the trees and turned it over to look at his palm. Through his darkening vision, he noted that his palm was glowing red as well. 

The last cognizant thought Stiles had before the darkness took him was that it would really suck to finish his senior year with one glowing red hand.

When Stiles came to, he was still in the clearing. He looked to his left and saw Isaac and Grady carrying Laura (he refused to think of it as Laura’s body) towards the house. Lydia and Wallace were at his side, helping him to his feet. Keith was curled up next to a tree trunk, looking anywhere but at Stiles.

“Keith, what’s wrong?” Stiles slurred, stumbling into Lydia.

Keith just shook his head, so Stiles set the issue aside for the moment. Lydia helped him turn and start walking towards the house, with Keith and Wallace following at a slower pace, talking to each other in hushed whispers.

“Stiles!” Stiles looked up to see Ana sprinting at him, with Derek jogging behind.

Stiles swept Ana up into a hug and held onto her tightly. 

‘Eleanor?’ Derek mouthed over Ana’s head once he reached the pair.

“It’s over,” Stiles whispered to him.

Derek cupped his hand over the back of Ana’s head while she rested her cheek against Stiles’ neck. 

“Der,” Stiles faltered. “Der, something happened in the woods. It’s Laura.”

Derek’s eyes snapped up to Stiles’. “What do you mean? Where is she?”

“They took her inside. It doesn’t look good.” Stiles shook his head and clutched Ana tighter as Derek sprinted into the house. 

Stiles entered the living room and passed Ana off to Erica, who coaxed the little girl into one of the upstairs offices with promises of a Disney movie.

Some of the pack was in the living room, tidying up and nursing their wounds. Laura, Scott, Jackson, Cora, Melissa, Derek, Dom, Boyd, and the four who went after Hector were all unaccounted for.

Stiles sank into an armchair wearily, still recovering from using most of his spark in one day. He was pleased to note that none of his body parts were still red or glowing.

“Where is everyone?” He directed at his dad, who was sitting on a nearby couch with identical exhausted posture.

“Melissa’s got most of them on the third floor recovering,” he responded, rubbing both hands over his face with a deep sigh. 

Stiles closed his eyes for a second before launching to his feet. He looked around and saw Wallace and Keith in the kitchen whipping up some food. His mom and Isaac were sitting on one of the couches. His mom had her arm wrapped tightly around Isaac, who looked miserable but unharmed.

“Why don’t you two go join Erica and Ana?” He suggested gently. “There’s not much to be done down here for now.”

His mom smiled and pulled Isaac to his feet. Stiles looked around curiously. “Wait, Isaac… where’s Dom?”

Isaac shrugged. “We split up when we were running the perimeter. He went East, so he probably doesn’t know the fight’s over."

“Can you go find him and let him know before you head upstairs?”

Isaac nodded. Claudia decided to join him and the two of them left out the back door to find Dom.

Stiles nodded for John, Grady, and Lydia to follow him into the basement. The four of them stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the cages, facing Liz.

Liz stood up from the bench and ran to the bars in front of Stiles. “Where’s my sister, is she ok?” She asked him desperately.

Stiles frowned. “Who’s your sister?”

“My sister, Beatrice. She’s human, neither of us wanted to hurt you guys, Eleanor made us! Please tell me she’s ok!” Her knuckles were white from gripping the bars so tightly. 

“Human?” Stiles repeated. “So she’s the one who removed my wards?”

Liz shook her head frantically. “She didn’t want to, neither of us did. Eleanor said she’d kick us out of the coven if we didn’t come with her. I thought we were just here to talk. Eleanor said the wards were meant to kill us.”

Stiles shook his head. “I don’t make killing wards. What does your sister look like?”

Liz swallowed nervously before responding. “She – she’s got long brown hair. She was wearing a yellow shirt. Is she… dead?” 

“No,” said Stiles immediately. “No, she’s fine. She triggered one of my wards and she’s unconscious in the driveway. But she’ll be ok once I reverse the effects of the ward.”

Liz sagged in relief, still holding onto the bars. She took a second to close her eyes, before opening them and finding Stiles’. “And you… you’re just going to let us go?”

Stiles looked around to the other three with him before addressing Liz. “Well, that depends on a few things.”

“Name it,” she said simply. “I’m mortified about what happened. I’ll help in any way I can.”

“One of your coven members put a spell on my friend Laura. She’s unconscious and won’t wake up. I need you to help me reverse it.”

Liz frowned. “What did it look like, the spell?”

Stiles deferred to Lydia, who stepped forward. 

“It was black,” she offered. “The cloud of smoke was black.”

“Ok, what did it smell like?” Asked Liz, still frowning.

Lydia bit her lip and thought about it for a second. “It was sulfuric,” she settled on. “Like rotten eggs.”

Liz closed her eyes and looked down. “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry. I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do for your friend. She will be dead within an hour of when the spell was cast.”

Stiles started to feel a piece of his soul break inside, but stopped the feeling before it could consume him. He steeled himself on the bars in front of him and willed the shattered piece of himself into a small box, to be opened later when he could afford to fall apart.

He looked up and locked eyes with Lydia and Grady. “Go,” he ordered. “Try.”

The two were off in a flash, Lydia already pulling out her phone, and Grady already yelling for Keith and Wallace to help him move the two witches from the library so they could hit the books. 

Thankfully, Lydia was one of five people in the world who knew Stiles’ real first name, so they would be able to open the door without an issue.

“I have a few more questions, then you and your sister are going to help them find a cure, do you understand me?” Stiles tried to hide the threat in his voice, but based on the fear in Liz’s eyes, he had failed.

She nodded weakly. “Of course.”

“One of the witches put a hex on my friend Scott. He went empty and tried to kill me. I managed to knock him out, but I need to know what he’ll be like when he wakes up.”

Liz thought about it for a second before her face cleared in understanding. “Oh, that sounds like Sophie. She loves that one. Don’t worry, it’s temporary. She can only keep the spell up for about five minutes at a time, so he should be fine now.”

Stiles allowed himself a sigh of relief before moving on. “Great. Ok, just two more questions for now. You know about the curse Ana’s necklace placed on my wolves?”

Liz nodded.

“Is it permanent?” 

Stiles was almost afraid to hear the response, but Liz just shook her head. “No, it will pass once the next full moon rises. But just so you know, biting one of them before the full moon won’t turn them back into werewolves – in fact, it would likely kill them.”

John squeezed Stiles’ shoulder as Stiles sighed again.

“Last question. What can you tell me about the witch with the dirty blonde hair? She was wearing a gray shirt and black sneakers.”

“Oh, that’s Madeline. She didn’t want to come here either. She’s only been with the coven a few months, and Eleanor made her come here when she found out Madeline was planning to leave.”

Stiles nodded to himself. “Ok, thanks.”

He unlocked the cages and led her upstairs to the library before heading outside with his dad.

They approached Madeline, who was sitting on the ground looking thoroughly put out with a large welt on her forehead. Stiles couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Her leg was still caught in the faux bear claw, and the baseball bats, having found their mark some time ago, were lying uselessly in a ring around her.

“How ya doing there, Maddy?”

She frowned at him. “Don’t call me that. And let me out of here.”

They chatted for a few minutes, before Stiles determined she wasn’t a threat to them. He released her from the ward and sent her into the library to help with the research on Laura’s condition. Madeline was happy to help, but did make a point of letting Stiles know it was probably futile. 

Stiles shook his head and went off with his dad to let Beatrice down.

John laughed softly as he took in the sight of the upside down witch. “I’ve got to hand it to you, kid. You are creative.”

They let Beatrice down, and she immediately demanded to know the status of her sister. Stiles reassured her that Liz was fine, then he and his dad led the frantic witch inside so the two could reunite before turning to help with the research. 

John stayed in the living room to watch over the two witches – Alyssa and Sophie – who had been relocated from the library to the living room.

Stiles trudged up the stairs to the third floor. He looked in on Boyd, who was all healed and a little grumpy that he was being forced to stay in bed for observation.

Next, Stiles ventured into Scott’s room. Scott was unconscious on the bed, breathing in and out deeply. Stiles was almost tempted to let him sleep, but he had to know for sure that his best friend was back. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and focused on Scott. Since reversing the spell he’d put on Scott only took a little concentration and not much spark, Stiles was able to manage it. 

Scott’s eyes fluttered open slowly. His eyes came to rest on Stiles’ face and the boy shot up into a sitting position. Scott stumbled through dozens of emphatic apologies for a while before Stiles gave up on trying to interrupt him and just engulfed his best friend into a bone-crushing hug. 

He took a few minutes to fill Scott in on what was happening. When he was finished, Scott got up, intent on visiting Boyd. 

“After you see Boyd, you might want to go downstairs and keep my dad company. He’s looking after the other two witches by himself,” Stiles suggested.

Scott nodded and they went their separate ways. 

Stiles knocked and peeked into the next room to find Cora sitting up in bed. She wasn’t in any pain, thanks to the pain meds that actually worked on her since she was human, but she was pissed that she needed to wear the cast for a few weeks. Stiles chatted with her for a bit before walking across the hall to Jackson’s room.

Jackson was sleeping, thankfully. His werewolf healing helped with a lot of his injuries, but he was still in bad shape. His right shoulder had been dislocated, one of his many broken ribs had punctured a lung, he had multiple scrapes and bruises all over the parts of his body Stiles could see, and it looked like his cheekbone might have been broken. 

Stiles saw some of the wounds healing slowly right before his eyes, so he felt optimistic about Jackson’s condition. He pulled a blanket over the sleeping wolf, and left him to visit the last room on the floor. Laura’s room.

Stiles opened the door and walked in slowly. Derek was sitting on a chair next to the bed, holding Laura’s hand. His face was that of a broken man.

“I can’t lose her again, Stiles,” he whispered with tears in his eyes.

Stiles rushed to his side and knelt down. “Derek. We’re going to find a way to help her. We’ve got the rest of the witches downstairs right now working with us to find a cure.”

Derek finally looked up from his and Laura’s enjoined hands. “What if they don’t find one? Nothing will bring her back; the Fae Queen warned us that there was nothing we could do if one of the Risen died again. I don’t want to bury my sister for a second time, Stiles.”

Not knowing what to say, Stiles simply got up and pulled up another chair next to Derek’s. He placed one hand on Laura’s leg and another on Derek’s back, rubbing soothing circles in silence.

Suddenly, Stiles and Derek heard yelling through the open bedroom door. The sound of someone running up the stairs was quickly followed by the sight of a beaten and bloody Peter in the doorway.

His face was covered in blood that dripped down his whole body, and his chest was heaving. He opened his mouth and started speaking, but Stiles was too distracted by the wolf’s glowing eyes to hear what he was saying.

Peter’s eyes were Alpha red.


	47. It's up to you

“Peter, what the hell?” Stiles exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.

Derek sat, frozen, as he took in his uncle’s new eye color. “Peter,” he whispered. “No, no, no, no, no,” Derek cried, fisting his hair in his hands. He shook his head as tears fell from his eyes.

Suddenly understanding Derek’s reaction, Stiles whipped his head around to the newly minted Alpha. “You killed Hector. Right, Peter?” He rushed to Derek’s side and gently wrestled the man’s hands from his hair. “Not Talia?”

Peter scoffed and ignored them, striding quickly over to the other side of Laura’s bed. He slid his hand under Laura’s own as he looked her up and down.

“What happened?” Peter demanded.

“You first,” Stiles commanded right back, still holding Derek to keep him from falling apart.

Peter closed his eyes. When they reopened, they were their normal color again. “I took off after Hector. We were joined by Talia pretty soon after I had caught him. Hector was good, but he didn’t stand a chance against the both of us. I had him pinned, and Talia was going in to finish him off, but I got… distracted.”

“What do you mean? What distracted you?” Stiles frowned.

Peter mumbled something under his breath. At the sight of Stiles’ annoyed face, he repeated himself a little louder. “The Argents. In my beta form, I still have trouble associating Argent scent with something that is nonthreatening.” Peter looked down momentarily, ashamed at having admitted a self-perceived weakness.

“Anyway, I got distracted and he got in a good swipe at Talia. I pinned him again, but he was an Alpha, so he was stronger than me. He overpowered me and went after Talia while she was down. Allison got him with an arrow, which distracted him long enough for Chris to get off a good shot. I finished the job, but Talia’s got it pretty bad. The Argents are bringing her up now.”

Derek looked at the door miserably, torn between not wanting to leave Laura, and wanting to check on his mother.

“You really thought I’d killed Talia?” Peter whispered, not meeting Derek’s eyes.

“Well excuse him, Mr. Alpha,” Stiles retorted. “But the last time you had those,” he waved towards Peter’s eyes, “You’d just killed his sister. I think he’s allowed to be a little skeptical.”

Derek spoke up quietly, staring steadfastly at Laura’s face. “No, he’s right, Stiles. I’m sorry, Peter. You would never do that now, I know that.”

Peter waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. Tell me what happened to Laura.”

They took turns helping fill Peter in. When they were done, Peter and Derek exchanged a look Stiles didn’t understand.

“It’s up to you, Peter,” said Derek as he stood up with finality. 

Derek took Stiles’ hand and led him out of Laura’s room, closing the door behind them and leaving Peter alone with his niece.

“What was that all about?” Stiles hissed at Derek when they were alone in the hallway.

Derek licked his lips and swallowed before responding. “When – .”

He was cut off by a series of shouts coming from the main floor. Stiles was momentarily confused about the lack of reaction from the pack members inside the rooms around him, but shook his head as he remembered the doors were all soundproofed.

Stiles took off after Derek down the stairs and into the living room, where his mother and Isaac were depositing an unconscious and bleeding Dom onto one of the couches. 

“What happened?” He asked his mother, racing towards Dom. 

“We don’t know,” she responded while checking Dom for injuries. “We found him like this a couple hundred yards away from the house. He must have come across Eleanor or Meredith on his own while he was searching the perimeter.”

From just a cursory glance, Stiles could see that Dom’s left leg was bent at an awkward angle, there was blood coming from an open wound in his abdomen, and he had a large gash on his forehead. It looked like he had been thrown into a tree.

“Well, Derek, you’re mom’s upstairs,” said Chris as he strode down the stairs with Allison in tow. “She’s not awake yet and she’s healing very slowly, but she’s going to be fine. Melissa kicked us out of her room, but I’m sure she’ll let you – .” He stopped when he caught sight of Dom on the couch. “Allison, go get Melissa,” he ordered, running into the living room as his daughter turned and sprinted up the stairs.

“He’d lost a lot of blood by the time we found him. We need to get him to a hospital,” said Claudia.

Melissa ran down the stairs and over to Dom. She inventoried his wounds quietly before sighing. “He’s too unstable to move, but if we don’t do something fast, he’s going to die.”

“The bite,” murmured Scott. He raised his voice so everyone could hear him. “Before the spell turned us human, Dom pulled the three of us aside – me, Derek, and Talia.”

Derek nodded, agreeing. “He said if anything were to happen to him, he wanted us to give him the bite if it would save his life.”

Stiles frowned and huffed in frustration. “Why didn’t he just ask for the bite from one of you anyway? I mean, he was going to. That’s why he was at the original Hale house the night of the fire.”

“He said he wanted to wait until after we figured everything out with the witches,” responded Scott. “Talia said it’s supposed to be a big deal when a human member of the pack asks for the bite. Like a month full of festivities and parties in their honor.”

Derek chimed in, “Dom wanted to wait for that.”

“Ok,” said Stiles. “We’ll give him the bite now to save his live, and then we’ll celebrate the shit out of him for the next month. Derek, we need to go get Peter to give him the bite.” He turned towards the stairs and started to walk towards them.

Derek stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Wait,” he said, looking incredibly conflicted.

“Wait? Wait for what?” Stiles asked incredulously. “Dom is dying, Derek, we don’t have time to wait!”

Chris stepped forward, looking at Derek in awe. “Derek, is Peter doing what I think he’s doing?”

After a brief pause, Derek looked down and whispered, “I think so.”

“Does anyone care to fill me in, because I’m feeling a little lost here.” John strode over to the couch and sat down with a sigh, running his hands over his face.

Since Derek seemed unable to speak, Chris offered what he could. “There’s legend of a ritual. If a pack member is badly wounded or weakened, an Alpha can give up his or her Alpha power to save that pack member.” He looked at Derek to fill in the rest.

“Peter told me about it back when Cora was injured. You know, when the Alpha Pack was in town. Luckily, Cora woke up on her own before I had to do anything. I didn’t trust Peter back then, so I wasn’t sure if he was making it all up or not.”

Stiles put a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “You think that’s what Peter’s doing upstairs? Giving away his Alpha power to save Laura?”

Derek nodded.

“Well, can’t he do that after he bites Dom?” Asked Claudia.

“Yes, but we have no way of knowing if Peter has started the ritual,” said Derek miserably. “If we interrupt him in the middle of it, it could kill them both.”

Stiles let out a puff of air while everyone considered their options. “Chris, was Talia conscious when you guys brought her in?”

Chris and Allison both shook their heads.

“We could ask one of the witches to help Dom?” Suggested Melissa from where she was still trying to tend to Dom’s wounds.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” responded Chris grimly. “We can’t trust them with something so important.”

“He’s right,” chimed in Isaac. “And if anything went wrong, Peter would kill all the witches, and then us.”

“Well, what about Ana?” Scott seemed hesitant to voice his idea.

“What about Ana?” Derek and Stiles shot at him at the same time.

Scott took a step back. “Stiles, your spark is tapped and you can’t do magic right now, but Ana can. You brought Pahn back and he was just as bad as Dom is now.”

Stiles shook his head adamantly. “Scott, that spell took a lot out of me. Ana’s only five and she hasn’t had any formal magical training. A spell like that could easily kill her.”

Allison eyed Stiles speculatively. “So Ana can’t heal Dom. But could she help Talia heal herself?”

Derek surprised everyone when he strode over to he huntress, picked her up, and spun her around. She giggled when Derek put her down and placed a kiss on her forehead with a cartoon smack. “Allison you are a genius!” 

He rushed off to the second floor, where Ana was watching a movie with Erica. Stiles walked in right behind him, still chuckling to himself.

“Hey, munchkin.” Derek lowered himself down so he was crouching in front of Ana.

Ana smiled sweetly at him, but turned her head so she could see around him. Stiles followed her gaze and laughed when he saw that she and Erica were wrapped up watching Sleeping Beauty.

Stiles and Erica exchanged a look. Erica paused the movie and left to join the others downstairs so they could fill her in on what she’d missed.

Stiles sat next to the confused girl and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and looked at Derek.

“We need your help, Ana,” said Derek softly. “But it’s ok if you don’t want to or if you find that you can’t do what we’re asking.”

Ana just nodded. “Ok.”

Derek took a deep breath. “Miss Talia got hurt. She’s going to be ok, but we need her to be ok a little faster than how she’s healing right now. Stiles can’t do magic right now.”

Ana looked up at Stiles sadly. 

“It’s ok, sweetie, I’m going to be fine,” he reassured her.

She nodded again and looked back at Derek.

“Do you think you could use your magic to help Miss Talia heal herself a little faster?”

Ana sat up in her seat and wiggled excitedly. “I’d get to use my magic? And I won’t get in trouble?”

Derek grinned. “You won’t get in trouble.”

The little girl nodded enthusiastically. “Ok! I’ll help Miss Talia.”

Stiles and Derek exchanged a look of relief. Stiles held out his hand to Ana and the three of them ventured up the stairs.


	48. Just hold on

Stiles, Derek, and Ana entered Talia’s room to find that she was in human form, but still unconscious. Stiles took a second to be thankful that none of her wounds were visible, save for one gash on her left forearm, so Ana didn’t have to see too much blood.

“Ok, Ana,” said Stiles softly, kneeling down so he was eye level with the girl. “I’m going to talk you through this, and all you have to do is concentrate.”

Ana nodded and walked over to stand next to Talia’s bedside.

“Now, healing was one of the first things Deaton taught me when I started learning magic. He used to have me heal the sick animals at his clinic. Since Miss Talia is already healing herself, what you have to do is close your eyes and find the areas that are healing. Can you do that?”

“Mmhmm,” she replied, closing her eyes and grabbing Talia’s hand. 

Stiles looked up at Derek hopefully. Derek’s face was a blank mask, but Stiles could see the cautious optimism in his eyes.

“Alright, let me know when you feel her healing magic,” Stiles told Ana, moving to stand right next to her.

“Got it,” she whispered with a tiny adorable frown.

Stiles smiled. “Ok, now I want you to focus on it. Focus all of your positive thoughts on the areas you feel that are healing. You may have to go to each one individually, but that’s ok.” Stiles bit his lip nervously. He hadn’t been successful the first time he’d tired to heal one of Deaton’s animals, but they couldn’t afford for Ana to fail.

Suddenly, there was a burst of pure yellow light, and Stiles and Derek were thrown backwards onto the floor. They looked up to find Talia sitting up in bed, fully healed, and Ana standing at the edge of the bed with a wide grin on her face. 

“Did I do it?” She asked, beaming.

Stiles and Derek exchanged wide-eyed looks of shock before Derek got to his feet and rushed to his mother’s bedside.

“I’m fine, dear,” she assured him gently, chuckling as he ran his eyes over her frantically, checking for injuries.

“Ana, you did it!” Stiles yelled, swooping the little girl up and peppering her face with little kisses while she giggled.

“What have I missed?” Asked Talia while she stood up and stretched, gratefully pulling on the clothes Derek had thrown to her from one of the dresser drawers.

Stiles distracted Ana with compliments and praise while Derek quickly filled his mother in on Dom and Laura’s conditions.

Though Stiles could tell she was tempted to look in on Laura and Peter across the hall, Talia swept down the stairs towards Dom instead.

As if reading Stiles’ mind, Isaac and Allison met them in the hallway on the second floor and took Ana back into the office to finish Sleeping Beauty. Stiles could hear Ana excitedly recounting her success to the two of them before Allison shut the door.

Stiles and Derek reentered the living room to find Talia on her knees by Dom’s head. Her hand carded through his hair gently as she whispered into his ear. “Oh, my dear. I know this is not how either of us wanted this to happen, but you will make an incredible wolf. Just hold on a little longer for me.” 

She placed a kiss on his forehead and grabbed his wrist, eyeing it with glowing red eyes. After a few deep breaths, she unleashed her fangs and sank them into the tender flesh of his forearm.

As soon as Talia stood up and took a few steps back from Dom, John and Melissa swooped in to start cleaning him up. The last thing anyone wanted was for him to wake up covered in blood.

John, Claudia, and Melissa brought Dom downstairs to the cages, where he would stay until his transformation was complete. Chris went upstairs to grab a mattress to lay on the floor inside the cages, then stayed down with the others to keep Dom company. 

“Stiles,” Talia called from the middle of the living room. She hadn’t moved in several minutes. 

“Yeah?” He took a few steps towards her.

“Stiles, I need to know what’s going on in Laura’s room upstairs.” Talia insisted, fixing Stiles with a pleading look.

Stiles shook his head miserably. “Talia, I wish I could. I just don’t have enough magic left in me to take away the soundproofing on the door, and there’s no way I can teach a spell like that to Ana in the next few hours.”

Scott frowned. “Do – do you have enough magic to do that spell you cast on the couch earlier? The one where you made it see-through?”

Stiles bit his lip and inventoried his spark inside of him. He felt a little tug in his core, and closed his eyes to get a better sense of just how drained he was. 

Finally, he nodded. “I might.”

“We could ask Liz or one of the other witches?” Derek suggested.

“No,” Stiles decided after a moment of deliberation. “I think we should keep them all together for now. And besides, we need them looking into a cure for Laura. Just in case…” He trailed off unhappily.

“If you’re sure you’re up for it,” said Derek, grabbing Stiles’ hand.

Stiles nodded and led Derek and Talia up the stairs to the hallway outside Laura’s room. Erica stayed behind in the living room to look after Alyssa and Sophie, who were both still unconscious.

Without Stiles needing to ask, Derek placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, providing reassurance and helping Stiles remain calm while he readied his remaining spark for the spell.

Talia stood behind the two, wringing her hands apprehensively.

Stiles licked his lips and closed his eyes. Bringing the last of his spark to his fingertips, he concentrated on the door.

When he heard a gasp from behind him, Stiles opened his eyes and found that the door was transparent. The now-clear door revealed Laura and Peter, who were both lying down, unconscious; Peter on the floor and Laura on the bed.

With a roar that shook Stiles to his core, Talia burst forward and ripped open the door, with Derek hot on her heels.

“Laura? Laura!” Derek ran to her left side while Talia ran around the bed to her right.

Derek locked eyes with his mother across the bed. “She’s not breathing,” he whispered, terrified.

Talia began CPR, leaving Stiles to check on Peter. He knelt down by the wolf’s head and shook his shoulder roughly. “Peter, wake up!” He could see Peter’s chest rising and falling shallowly with each breath he took, but the man was still unconscious.

Stiles reared back and slapped Peter across the face with all the force he could muster. Peter’s eyes shot open before he roared, looking around wildly for the threat. 

Unperturbed, Stiles sat back on his heels and let out a surprisingly relieved chuckle.

Once Peter realized there was no threat, his head snapped up to Laura. Stiles and Peter sat side by side, watching Talia try to breathe life into her daughter. 

The box Stiles had put his grief into was just starting to crack open, giving way to a painful dry sob, when Laura sat up with a gasp.

Through Derek and Talia’s frantic mumbling and whispered reassurances, Stiles and Peter lay down, exhausted, but content in knowing that Laura was alive and well. Talia reported confidently that Laura’s wounds had healed, while Stiles and Peter exchanged a pleased glance.

“Hey,” remarked Stiles, surprised. “Those look good on you.” He pointed to Peter’s eyes.

Peter frowned and turned his head towards the full length mirror on the wall opposite him. He gasped and reached out to touch the mirror, sure it was a trick. 

Peter’s eyes were glowing beta gold.


	49. Good as new

Peter rose to his feet, never taking his eyes off of his reflection in the mirror. His hand rose to his cheeks and he very carefully prodded the area around his eyes. He turned his head left and right, trying to see his new golden eyes at every angle.

When he was sure it wasn’t a trick of light, he beamed. The man’s grin was infectious and breathtaking. Stiles couldn’t help but smile at the sight, his breath caught in his chest.

Peter whipped his head around to where Laura sat with her legs thrown over the side of the bed. He approached her cautiously at first, before closing the gap between them swiftly and embracing her. 

“Still human, Peter,” she squeaked into his shoulder through a laugh. 

He pulled back with a guilty grin.

“Did you just do what I think you did?” She whispered, still holding Peter loosely.

Peter took a deep breath and nodded. 

Derek made his way over to Stiles and intertwined their fingers. Neither could take their eyes off of Peter and Laura.

Laura took a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around Peter tightly, emitting a dry sob. 

It was as if a dam had broken. Through the muttered apologies and thank yous being exchanged between the two, Talia made her way over to her boys.

“Why don’t you two head across the hall and check on Jackson?” She suggested. “I’ll send Laura over in a few minutes.”

Stiles and Derek exchanged a grim look and left the room without a word. Neither wanted to be too close to Peter when Talia told him about Dom.

Once they were out in the hall, Derek wasted no time in scooping Stiles up into a fierce hug.

Stiles laughed at his boyfriend, but returned the hug with enthusiasm.

Derek pulled back just enough to take Stiles’ head into his hands. “Are you ok?” He asked, trailing the pads of his thumbs over Stiles’ cheekbones gently.

Stiles smiled involuntarily at the intensity of Derek’s expression. His breath caught when he considered just how much you have to love someone to look at them like that.

Stiles grasped Derek’s wrists gently, not pulling them away from his face. “I’m fine. Really, Der.”

Derek frowned. “But your spark. You’ve never used that much magic in one day…” 

“My spark just needs to rest. I’ll be good as new by this time tomorrow, I promise.” Stiles darted forward and pressed a soft kiss to Derek’s frown, holding his lips to the warm skin for a few moments.

With a deep breath, Derek nodded and led Stiles into Jackson’s room.

Cora, Boyd, and Jackson were all cuddled up on the bed, fast asleep. Jackson’s external wounds seemed to have healed, but Stiles knew sometimes magical wounds were worse beneath the surface. Still, he’d probably be just fine by morning. 

Derek approached Cora cautiously and leaned forward to whisper in her ear that Laura was going to be alright. Cora blinked sleepily and grinned once the words had fully been processed. She nodded at her brother and was asleep again within seconds.

Laura entered the room moments later. Derek and Stiles engulfed her in a warm hug and exchanged smiles. Laura grinned a little harder when she caught sight of the puppy pile on Jackson’s bed.

Stiles gestured towards the door and mouthed, ‘Ana?’ at the other two. They nodded and followed him out.

The office door had nearly shut behind them when they heard a loud crash from the third floor. Derek hastened to get the door closed before the footsteps of a furious Peter reached the stairs.

“What was that all abo – ,” Laura was cut off when Isaac launched himself into her arms. She huffed a laugh and gripped the enthusiastic boy firmly. 

Isaac let go sheepishly and made his way back to the couch to sit with Allison and Ana.

“Glad you’re ok, Laura,” offered Allison.

Laura just sat down next to the huntress and bumped her shoulder with a grin.

“Ok,” Laura said, turning her attention back to Stiles and Derek. “What was that all about?”

Derek, who had strode over to Ana as soon as they’d entered the room, answered distractedly with half of his attention pulled away by the little girl now on his lap.

Stiles filled in the holes Derek was too preoccupied braiding Ana’s hair to fill in himself, and by the end of their update, Laura’s hand was at her mouth.

“Mom bit Uncle Dom?” She wiped her face with both of her hands wearily. “Did it look like it would take?”

Derek gave Laura his full attention when he answered her affirmatively. Laura slumped back into the couch in relief, curling into Allison slightly. Allison flung her arm around Laura’s shoulder.

When Stiles noticed about fifteen minutes later that he was the only one still awake, he grinned and woke Derek with a gentle shake of his shoulder. “Why don’t you go tuck Ana in and wait for me in our room? I’m going to go check on Dom and tell everyone in the library that they can stop researching.”

Derek nodded and stood, barely dislodging Ana as he scooped her up into his arms. “What about the witches?”

“We’ll let them stay in the basement for the night. We can deal with them in the morning.”

Stiles heard Derek wake Allison, Laura, and Isaac quietly as he left the room.

He trudged down the stairs to find Erica twirling her hair, looking utterly bored. Stiles plopped down next to her on the couch and gave himself a moment to just sit contentedly. Erica rested her head on his shoulder and the two sat in silence, watching Alyssa and Sophie snooze on the opposite couch.

Stiles sighed and let himself into the library. 

After allowing herself a brief sigh of relief at the news of Laura’s condition, Lydia ran off to go join Cora and Boyd in Jackson’s room. 

Grady left to find Laura, while Wallace and Keith stayed with Liz, Madeline, and Beatrice. Stiles ventured down the stairs to check on Dom and see if he was in a position to be taken up to one of the bedrooms.

Chris and Scott were standing off to one side, with John, Talia, and Melissa on the other. Chris looked like he was sporting a pretty nasty black eye, but the rest looked virtually untouched. Inside the cage were Dom, Peter, and surprisingly, Claudia.

“How is he?” Stiles asked Talia.

Talia didn’t look away from Peter and Dom as she answered. “About as you’d expect. We won’t know if the bite took until morning.”

“Is he stable enough to move? Unless we want to deal with the remaining witches tonight, we need to keep them somewhere.”

Talia nodded. “Peter?”

Peter’s head shot up, his gaze finding Talia immediately. The murderous look Stiles was expecting was certainly there, but it was much more muted than he would have thought.

“We’re going to move him upstairs, to one of the bedrooms,” Talia whispered, approaching him cautiously. 

Luckily, Peter didn’t put up much of a fight, though he didn’t let anyone else touch Dom. The two disappeared up the stairs into one of the rooms to wait out Dom’s transformation.

After he reassured them a dozen times that he was fine, Stiles’ parents left shortly after that. Melissa left as well, after pulling Scott into a sweeping hug. 

Chris stuck around long enough to get all five of the witches settled in the basement before he went home too.

Erica, Scott, Wallace, and Keith zombie-walked up to bed, leaving Stiles alone downstairs with Talia.

“What are we gonna do about them?” Stiles asked her, nodding towards the basement stairs.

Talia closed her eyes and sat down on one of the armchairs. Stiles joined her in the living room and took a seat on the coffee table, facing Talia.

When she opened her eyes, Talia tilted her head to the side as she regarded Stiles curiously. “You look like you already have an idea.”

Stiles smirked. “Well, I kind of do.”

Talia settled into her chair and gestured for Stiles to continue.

Thirty minutes later, they had their plan. It was nearly two in the morning, but Talia was wide awake. She shifted into her wolf form and went for a quick run. 

Stiles took the stairs two at a time and joined Derek in bed, where the man was snoring softly.

He slipped under the sheets and wrapped his arms around Derek from behind. “Everything’s going to be ok,” he whispered. 

“I promise.”


	50. A proposition

Stiles heard a quiet knock on the door and opened his eyes sleepily. 

Talia opened the door slowly, allowing Stiles to sit up in the bed without dislodging Derek at all. Since becoming human, Derek had made a habit of sleeping like a log.

The two locked eyes silently once Talia had entered the room fully. Stiles shot the Alpha a questioning look, which Talia correctly interpreted. She nodded with a smile. 

‘When?’ He mouthed at her.

‘Noon,’ she mouthed back. 

They shared a private smile and Talia left as quietly as she came. Stiles collapsed back onto the bed with a grin that threatened to split his whole face.

“Babe?” He gently shook Derek’s shoulder to wake the man. He leaned forward and nudged Derek’s cheek with his nose. “Wake up,” he whispered. “I’ve got good news.”

Derek opened one eye groggily, still halfway in his dream world. He took a deep breath and opened the other eye, scrunching up his face adorably at having been woken up.

Before he could say anything, Stiles swooped down and planted an excited kiss on the man’s mouth. Derek grinned into the kiss and responded back enthusiastically, flipping the two so he had Stiles pinned to the bed.

Stiles laughed. “You don’t care about my morning breath anymore?”

Derek shook his head, which was a feat considering his lips were still attached to Stiles’.

After a few more seconds, Stiles sighed. “As much as I love this, I have something to tell you.”

Derek pouted, but relented. The two sat up in the bed, facing each other.

Stiles breathed in and out a few times, steeling himself. “Well, you know how we’ve been talking to Emily from CPS about Ana?”

Derek nodded, frowning in confusion about where Stiles was going with that.

“Your mom called her first thing this morning.” Stiles bit his lip uncertainly. “Given everything that’s happened, Emily has granted us temporary custody of Ana, pending a site visit of the house.”

For a few seconds, Derek stopped breathing. His eyes were locked on Stiles’ and his face was unreadable.

“Der?” Stiles cocked his head to the side.

“Ana… Ana gets to stay with us?” Derek finally whispered, as if afraid speaking any louder would make his words untrue.

Stiles nodded with a grin. “She does. And there’s more.”

“More?” Derek’s eyes widened and he held his hand to his heart, overwhelmed.

“When Emily comes by for the site visit, she’ll be bringing adoption papers with her. Assuming the visit goes well, Ana will be ready to be formally adopted this afternoon.”

Derek closed off his face and dropped his hand from his heart. “By – by who?”

Stiles took Derek’s face into his hands and forced Derek’s gaze to meet his own. “You,” he whispered.

A few tears managed to escape Derek’s eyes before he closed them. For a moment, all the worry that usually lined his face turned into pure joy. Seeing that kind of wonder on Derek’s face took Stiles’ breath away.

Slowly, Stiles saw the happiness give way to doubt. 

Stiles shook his head firmly. “No. Derek, stop.”

“Stop what?” Derek replied, opening his eyes and leaning away from Stiles’ touch.

“You’re thinking of all the reasons why it isn’t a good idea for you to adopt Ana,” Stiles accused correctly.

“It’s not a good idea, Stiles.” Derek looked away from the boy’s face, not wanting to meet his eyes.

“Derek Jacqueline Hale, you listen to me right now.” Stiles pointed at Derek sternly.

Derek raised his eyes to the ceiling, tipping his head back and forgetting for a second what they were talking about. “That’s not my middle name, Stiles. You’re really bad at this game.”

Stiles smirked for a second, proud that he’d successfully diverted Derek’s attention momentarily.

“Look,” he said, bringing them back to the matter at hand. “I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. You would be a terrific father. And Ana would be lucky to have you.”

Derek was silent for a few minutes. He ducked his head and looked at his hands folded across his lap.

“What if I mess up?”

“Every parent messes up. But you’re not going to mess up any more than the rest of ‘em,” Stiles assured him.

Finally, Derek looked up and found Stiles’ face with his eyes. “Stiles, I was a terrible Alpha when I first started out. What makes you think I won’t be an equally terrible father?”

Stiles shook his head gently. “You were trying to teach your betas how to stay alive. Now, you’ll be helping Ana live her life. There’s a big difference, Der.”

Derek frowned. “You really think I could do this?”

“I do.” Stiles nodded firmly. “But do you?”

Derek took a deep breath. “I love her. And she already feels like my little girl.” He seemed surprised at his admission. A slow smile crept onto his face. “My little girl.”

Stiles smiled along with him. “Like the sound of that, do ya?”

Derek’s laugh sounded like it was ripped out of him as he pounced on Stiles, pinning him once again to the bed. He peppered Stiles’ face with kisses until they were both laughing.

“You know what we have to do now, don’t you?” Stiles asked, punctuating his question with a kiss to the tip of Derek’s nose.

“We have to talk to Ana,” Derek replied. He sat up and tried to control his breathing, which had become somewhat erratic. “What if she doesn’t want to stay here? What if she wants someone else in the pack to adopt her instead? Or what if she wants to leave us completely and go back with what’s left of the coven? It’s her coven, Stiles. She could choose them.”

Stiles grabbed Derek’s hand and put it over his heart. “Breathe, Derek. Breathe with me. It’s going to be ok.”

Once Derek’s breathing was back to normal, Stiles tackled he litany of questions Derek had posed. “She’s crazy about you, Der. And the pack. I don’t think she’ll want to live anywhere else, given the chance.”

Derek nodded, still not convinced. 

Stiles frowned suddenly. “Does she even know her mom is dead?”

Derek nodded again. “We talked about it last night as I was putting her to bed. She asked me point blank if her mom was dead and I told her she was.” He bit his lip and added, “She seemed to understand what that meant, but she’s five. I guess we’ll see how much she absorbed of our conversation.”

“We’ll talk to her after we get the witches sorted out.” Stiles proceeded to tell Derek about his conversation with Talia, and what the plan was for the five remaining witches in the basement. Derek agreed proudly.

The two got up and dressed for the day. They went downstairs and found that most of the pack, save for Peter, Dom, and Talia, were already milling about.

Ana was in the living room, but was sound asleep on Isaac’s lap, not having found either Derek or Stiles when she’d emerged from her bedroom earlier that morning.

“Time for a fun conversation with the witches, everyone!” Stiles greeted.

Erica rolled her eyes. “That sounds like a meeting for the Alphas, the hunters, and Stiles. The rest of us might as well go to school.”

“I’ll drive you guys,” Grady offered, grabbing the keys to one of the pack SUV’s Talia had invested in.

Erica, Boyd, Cora, Lydia, and Isaac – after carefully depositing Ana into Laura’s lap – all stood up to grab their things and pile into the car after Grady. Jackson stood to follow them out, intent on loitering with them around school since it was a Friday close to the end of the school year and none of the teachers would likely care.

“Jackson?” Stiles called. “Would you mind staying for the meeting?”

Jackson paused at the front door and cocked his head questioningly. He puffed his chest out with pride at being asked to attend, but nodded shyly. 

Wallace and Keith took another car and headed over to the bookstore to hang out with Claudia for the day, texting Grady to meet them there as they went out the door.

“Psst, Stiles?” Laura whispered, not wanting to wake Ana.

Stiles skipped across the kitchen over to where Laura was sitting in the living room.

“Mom told me what the plan was, and I’m all for it. I’m gonna take this little one upstairs.” She nodded at Ana and stood up, careful not to jostle the sleeping girl. 

Laura stopped by Derek long enough for him to place his hand on top of the little girl’s head lovingly. He placed a brief kiss to her forehead, then Laura was off. 

Stiles, Derek, Scott, Jackson, and Allison went down to the basement to get the witches. Liz, Beatrice, and Madeline all walked back up the stairs on their own, but Derek and Jackson had to carry the still-unconscious Sophie and Alyssa up.

Stiles decided to keep the two of them as they were for now, choosing to address Liz, Beatrice, and Madeline first.

The three witches sat on the couch opposite Stiles, who was perched on the armchair. Derek stood to his right, with Jackson, Scott, and Allison all sitting on the other couch to his left. Sophie and Alyssa were situated on the loveseat across the room.

“Ok,” began Stiles. “We’re going to have a conversation, and Jackson is going to listen to your heartbeats.” He received a nod from the wolf and continued. “If you lie to us, this conversation will go in a very different direction than we’re hoping it will. Understood?”

They nodded in tandem.

It took Stiles about fifteen minutes to confirm that the pack had nothing to fear from the three of them. Liz and Beatrice had been born into the coven, but had never agreed with the way Eleanor had run it. Madeline had joined only recently, but had already been searching for a new, less hostile coven.

“Liz?” Stiles addressed her directly. “We have a proposition for you.”

“Ok…” she replied apprehensively, exchanging a look with Beatrice.

Stiles took a deep breath. “We have no quarrel with the three of you. If you agree to lead the new coven, we don’t see any reason why we can’t form an alliance between you and our pack.”

Liz’s eyes popped open wide. “Lead the coven? Oh, I don’t know.” She and Beatrice had a frantic, whispered discussion. Stiles kept an eye on Jackson, who was listening intently, but the wolf showed no signs that the conversation was anything but innocent.

“Very well,” Liz agreed finally with a nod.

Stiles nodded back at her. “That’s settled, then. The next thing we need to discuss is those two.” He pointed at Alyssa and Sophie’s forms on the loveseat.

“I do not want Alyssa in our coven,” Liz declared firmly. “She came here intent on harming you all, and I will not tolerate that kind of behavior.”

Stiles allowed himself a small smile before turning to his packmates. “Allison?”

Allison nodded, taking that as her queue. “The hunting community has ways of dealing with rogue witches like Alyssa. She will be put on trial, and my father and I will make sure the punishment fits the crime. The three of you will be asked to make statements at her trial.”

Liz agreed easily. “What about Sophie?”

“She hexed me,” growled Scott. Stiles took a second to be a little impressed that the growl was still effective even though he was human.

Liz nodded, but wisely stayed silent. 

“She hexed me, and forced me to point a gun at my best friend. She made me shoot Boyd!” Scott calmed down a little when Allison grabbed his hand, but was still breathing heavily. 

Stiles was a little confused when Jackson got up, but stifled a grin when the wolf returned only a moment later with Scott’s inhaler in his hand.

Scott nodded in thanks and took a puff. With his breathing under control, he addressed the witches again. “Can she be trusted not to do something like that again if we let her go with you?”

It was Beatrice who answered. “She’s really not all bad. She’s the only one who would teach me magic when the others just laughed at me for having no natural ability. Soph and I talked a little before we were all ordered to come here. She truly believed you were the enemy.”

“But that was because of Eleanor,” interjected Madeline. “Eleanor filled her head with lies because she knew Sophie would be a good solider for her.”

“She will, of course, be placed on probation, should she be allowed to return with us,” said Liz with authority.

Stiles looked up at Derek, then over at Scott. They both nodded back at him. 

“Alright.” Stiles stood and walked over to the loveseat. He could see Allison taking out her phone and dialing her father.

Stiles channeled his spark and woke Sophie and Alyssa.


	51. Forever

Sophie blinked awake and glanced around the room, terrified. 

Alyssa woke up with a sneer and fixed Stiles with a murderous look in her eyes. 

She raised her hand to strike at him, but was stopped when Liz sent a surge of magic towards the angry witch. It forced her backwards on the loveseat, pinning down her arms and torso. With a flick of her wrist, Liz sealed Alyssa’s mouth shut temporarily.

With Alyssa out of commission, Stiles and Liz took turns explaining to Sophie the terms of her probation, as well as clarifying some of the inaccuracies Eleanor had put into her head.

Sophie was distraught when she heard how she had been manipulated, and apologized profusely to Scott for what she had done. 

By the time they were through dealing with Sophie, Chris had arrived at the house.

Chris had arranged for one of his hunter friends who had jurisdiction in Nevada, to send transportation to pick up Alyssa and bring her back to her home state for trial. Chris agreed to go with her, and Liz sent Madeline along as a representative from the coven.

After accepting her apology a few times over, Scott took Sophie outside so she could use his phone to call Boyd and apologize to him as well. 

When that was done with, Jackson took the keys to the Camero when Derek wasn’t looking, and drove Scott and Allison to school.

Liz, Sophie, and Beatrice stayed for another half hour with Stiles and Derek, nailing down the details of their alliance. Once the particulars had been sorted out, Beatrice tentatively asked about Ana. 

Stiles explained the situation and the status of Ana’s adoption, nervous about their reactions. To his surprise, Liz and Beatrice beamed at one another, then at Derek.

Derek stuttered through a promise that he would, of course, bring Ana to visit every once in a while, and the witches took that as their queue to head out.

As the three got up to leave, Liz looked uncertain for a moment before launching herself at Derek and pinning him in a quick hug.

The three departed the Hale house, leaving Stiles and Derek alone on the main floor. Stiles padded over to the kitchen counter and hoisted himself on top of it.

Derek walked towards the boy slowly, still trying to comprehend how they had gotten through the morning without bloodshed.

When Derek was close enough, Stiles pulled him the rest of the way towards him, to stand in between Stiles’ knees. Derek’s hands came down to rest on the boy’s waist instinctively. 

“You were a good Alpha this morning,” Stiles murmured into Derek’s chest as he pulled his boyfriend in for a hug.

Derek chuckled. “You did all the hard work. You amaze me, you know that?”

Stiles smiled into Derek’s collarbone. He playfully nipped the skin surrounding it and pulled back to look at Derek in the face. 

“Are you ready to go talk to your kid?” Stiles smirked, but sobered once he saw the look of doubt on Derek’s face. “Hey,” he said, cupping Derek’s jaw with one hand.

“You know how much she loves you.”

Derek inhaled sharply and let his breath out in one long gust, nodding. “Will you come with me?”

“Always,” Stiles promised.

He jumped down from the counter and intertwined their fingers. They entered the upstairs office to find Laura fast asleep on the couch. Pinocchio was playing in the background, but Ana was occupying herself another way.

Laura’s hair had been ‘braided’ into several knots on the back of her head.

Stiles snickered while Derek turned and attempted to bury a full-throated laugh in Stiles’ shoulder.

The poorly muffled sound was loud enough to rouse Laura, who woke with a groggy, “What?”

Stiles opened his mouth to tell her what Ana had been up to, but Derek nudged him surreptitiously and he stayed silent.

“Nothing,” Derek responded innocently. 

Laura eyed the two suspiciously before giving them some privacy with Ana. She left to go check on Dom, promising to let them know if there was any change.

Stiles and Derek exchanged a grim look as she shut the door behind herself. Every minute Dom didn’t wake up was a bad sign.

They shook themselves out of that train of thought and bracketed Ana on the couch. Stiles sat quietly and watched the movie with Ana while Derek steeled himself to begin talking.

Finally, Stiles saw Derek take a big breath.

“Hey, Ana?” Derek waited until Ana’s attention was on him rather than the movie. 

Stiles reached over for the remote on the side table and paused it so there was no background noise to distract her.

“Hm?” She looked up at Derek sleepily, still somewhat groggy from her daily post-breakfast nap.

“Do you remember what we talked about last night?” 

Ana nodded. “About mama?”

“Yeah, about mama. Do you know what it means, that your mama isn’t here anymore?” Derek turned his body so his back was against the arm of the couch.

“Mmhmm, it means I don’t see her again.” Ana fidgeted with the hem of her dress while she waited for Derek to continue talking.

Derek nodded with a sigh. “It also means you don’t live with her anymore.” He squinted, trying to gauge her reaction.

Ana frowned, her eyebrows forming the cutest ‘v’ on her forehead. Suddenly, her face cleared and she became excited. “Does that mean I get to live here?” She bounced up and down in her seat.

“Would – would you like to?” Derek looked shocked at her reaction. 

Stiles shook his head fondly at his Stubbornwolf. He tried to send Derek a look that said ‘of course she wants to live here, dummy,’ but Derek only had eyes for Ana.

“Yes, please!” Ana yelled as she launched herself at Derek. His arms closed around her automatically. He laughed at the little girl as she continued to bounce up and down in his arms. 

When the two let go, Ana turned around and hugged Stiles just as enthusiastically. 

“I can stay here forever?” She confirmed, looking at Derek seriously. 

“As long as you want, munchkin,” he assured her. “There’s one more thing, though.”

Ana nodded, resuming her excited bouncing. She looked around the couch until she found her stuffed werewolf, which she hugged to her chest once her attention returned to Derek.

Derek watched her fondly as she searched for her little Isaac and settled back onto her couch cushion. “Do you know what adoption means?”

She shook her head.

“Well sometimes, when someone’s mama or daddy dies like your mama did, another person comes in and adopts them. They become that person’s parent.”

“Like a new mama?” Ana frowned, trying to understand. 

Derek shook his head and tucked a piece of wayward hair behind Ana’s ear. “Not exactly. No one can replace your mama.”

“But mama said I don’t have a daddy.” A look of understanding graced her face. “Does that mean I get to be adopted now? Since I don’t have a mama or a daddy?”

Derek nodded. “Yes, and whoever adopts you becomes your parent.”

Ana sniffled. “But – but who’s gonna ‘dopt me?”

Stiles watched with pride as Derek puffed up his chest and asked, “What if it was me who adopted you? Would you want that?”

Stiles held his breath as he watched Ana try to understand what Derek was saying. 

Once it clicked, Ana let out a shriek and threw her arms around Derek’s neck. There was so much movement and excited screeching that Stiles had no idea what Ana was saying.

Ana and Derek sat like that for several minutes. Derek was openly crying, while Ana pulled from a seemingly endless supply of energy and bounced up and down eagerly.

When she had finally worn herself out, she sat on Derek’s lap with a sigh that made Stiles laugh. 

“You mean it?” She asked Derek. “I get to stay here, and you’re gonna be my – my.” Ana scrunched up her face in frustration.

“What is it, sweetie?” Stiles asked her from across the couch.

“I dunno what – ,” she turned back towards Derek. “I dunno what to call you.”

Derek wiped the happy tears from under his eyes and looked at Ana seriously. “Well, what do you want to call me?”

Ana pursed her lips in thought. While she was preoccupied, Derek locked eyes with Stiles.

‘I love you,’ Stiles mouthed to Derek.

Derek closed his eyes and smiled. ‘I love you, too,’ he mouthed back as well as he could given his wide grin. 

“Papa,” Ana decided.

Stiles’ heart melted at the look on Derek’s face. 

“What’s that, munchkin?” Derek whispered.

“Papa,” she repeated. “Auntie Beatrice told me that’s what she used to call her daddy when she was little. Can I call you that?”

Derek pushed the hair back from her face and peppered her forehead and cheeks with kisses. “Yes, you can call me that,” he told the giggling girl.

“What about you?” Ana asked Stiles from under Derek’s arms. “Are you ‘dopting me too? What should I call you now?”

Stiles, who had been prepared for the question, simply replied, “Why don’t you call me Stiles, or Uncle Stiles for now, sweetie.”

Ana seemed content with that reply, and went back to her hug fest with Derek.

When they two had settled down a little, Derek took the opportunity to ask Ana one last question. “Are you sure, munchkin? You can go back with Liz and Beatrice, and be with your coven if you want. We only want you to stay with us if it’s what you want to do.”

Ana just shook her head with a finality that surprised Stiles. “No, I want to stay with you, and Uncle Stiles, and Auntie Laura, and Uncle Isaac, and Uncle Jackson, and Miss Talia, and Miss Claudia, and Mister Sheriff…” she continued until she had named every member of the pack.

Ana had just finished saying “Mister Chris” when the door shot open, revealing a panting Laura. 

“Guys, come quickly,” she wheezed. “It’s Dom!”


	52. More than alright

Stiles stood up, conflicted. He wanted to follow Laura to check on Dom, but didn’t want Ana to come if it wasn’t good news.

“Is he ok?” Derek seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he stood with Ana in his arms, but made no moves towards the door.

Laura nodded, grinning wildly. “Come on!”

Derek and Stiles exchanged delighted smiles before following Laura to the room Dom had been resting in.

Stiles sometimes forgot that Talia and Peter were brother and sister, but when he walked into Dom’s room to find the two hugging fiercely, there was no mistaking it.

Peter seemed to be crying softly, so Stiles and Derek walked past him and went right to Dom, who was sitting up on his bed.

His eyes were glowing gold.

Dom turned his bright eyes towards Derek and Ana. Derek had slowed down as he approached the bed, not wanting to bring Ana too close if Dom wasn’t in control, but Dom just smiled and beckoned them closer. 

“I’m alright, buddy,” he reported jovially. “More than alright, actually.”

They took turns hugging him in relief, then settled in to catch everyone up on the situation with the remaining witches, the new coven, Alyssa’s trial, and Ana’s adoption.

Ana jumped down from where she had been sitting on Derek’s lap and strolled over to Peter, who was sitting in a chair by Dom’s bedside.

She held up her arms expectantly, which alarmed the wolf. Peter looked around for help, and found his family grinning at him, leaving him on his own.

He cleared his throat and leaned down to pick her up with a sigh.

Ana situated herself onto Peter’s lap and fixed him with a smile. “Derek’s going to be my papa, you know.” She wiggled back and forth on his knee, looking around the room absentmindedly, seemingly finished with the conversation. 

“Oh, ok,” Peter replied, dumfounded. He clearly didn’t know how to talk to children. Stiles could tell he wasn’t the only one amused with Peter’s discomfort.

Peter growled playfully at Laura’s snickering, and hastened to change the subject to get the conversation flowing away from himself.

Talia and Stiles excused themselves a little while later to head downstairs; Talia to call Chris for an update on Alyssa, and Stiles to call his dad to fill him in on the meeting with the witches and the impending adoption.

Stiles had just hung up when he caught a glimpse of the time on his phone. It was almost noon.

Panicked, Stiles ran up the stairs two at a time to get back to Dom’s room. “Derek, Emily will be here any minute. Go get Ana cleaned up and changed out of her pj’s.”

Derek nodded and scooped Ana up from Peter’s lap, running out of the room in a daze.

“Ok, listen,” Stiles told Peter, Dom, and Laura after Derek had left. “We need to go through the house and make sure it’s spotless. Dom, Peter, you go through the third floor and get rid of any evidence of blood you can see or smell. That’s where Melissa treated everyone who was injured in the fight, so there’s bound to be some bloodstains we don’t want Emily to see. Peter, thank you for showering, but please throw away the clothes you were wearing last night.”

The two wolves nodded and ran out of the room to begin their inspection.

“Laura, you do the same with the second floor and the basement. There shouldn’t be much blood, but make sure the cages look… homey?” He frowned, but committed to his word choice with a shrug. 

She nodded. “Got it. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to gather up all the weapons we used last night and make sure our arsenal is locked up properly,” he told her before they parted ways on the stairs.

He passed Talia in the kitchen, who looked like she was mixing ingredients for chocolate chip cookies.

“What are you doing?” He asked her fondly through a chuckle. He had never seen someone stir so nervously.

“Our house smells like blood.” She told him as she frantically stirred the dry ingredients together. “Maybe it won’t to Emily, but don’t you think the smell of cookies baking is better than the smell of blood, however faint?”

Stiles laughed and left her to it, whipping out his phone to report to the rest of the pack that Dom was going to be fine. 

Once the weapons had been put away and all the rooms had been cleared, Stiles and Laura rooted through the pack’s movie collection until they found Snow White. They put it on in the background and stared at the screen vacantly as they waited for Emily to arrive. 

Ana ran down the stairs and hopped up onto Laura’s lap. “Can I finish braiding your hair, Auntie Laura?”

Laura frowned. “Finish?”

Stiles, remembering suddenly the knotted mess that was the back of Laura’s head, snorted behind his hand.

Laura brought her hand to the back of her head and shot Stiles a murderous look as she hastened to undo the damage with her fingers.

Ana looked between the two curiously, before shrugging and turning her attention to the movie instead.

Derek paced quietly in the kitchen while his mother cleaned up the leftover ingredients and put the cookies in the oven to begin baking.

Peter and Dom were at the kitchen table, talking quietly. Peter seemed to be teaching Dom how to unsheathe his claws without fully shifting.

Stiles’ eyes raked over the pack members around him and noticed something was off.

With a jolt, Stiles jumped up from his seat.

“Your wounds,” he whisper-yelled at Derek.

Derek raised an eyebrow in question. “What are you talking about?”

Stiles waved a hand at Derek’s face. “You have some cuts and bruises on your face from last night.”

“Ok,” Derek frowned, still not getting Stiles’ point.

“Do you really want to meet Emily looking like you just took part in a battle?” Stiles asked him.

Derek looked around the room before leaning forward to stage whisper, “Stiles, I did just take part in a battle.”

Stiles huffed. “No,” he said, straightening out Derek’s collar. “This is your first time meeting Emily and I won’t have you looking anything less than your best.”

Talia hid a smirk by turning her back on the two and tidying up the rest of the mess in the kitchen.

Stiles closed his eyes and grabbed Derek’s face gently. He channeled a piece of his mostly-healed spark and fixed the small cuts as quickly as he dared to.

He had barely finished when there was a knock at the door. 

Derek froze. 

Stiles leaned forward and pressed their lips together, kissing Derek until he snapped out of his panic.

Derek pulled back and gave Stiles a tight-lipped smile. He took a deep breath and kissed Stiles once more, gratefully, before running off to open the door.

“You must be Emily,” he greeted the woman with a disarming smile. “I’m Derek, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Emily exchanged pleasantries with Derek and the rest of them before sitting down with Talia and Derek in one of the upstairs offices to go over the specifics of the site visit and the possible adoption. 

Laura and Ana were both wrapped up in the movie, so Stiles went into the kitchen to sit with Peter and Dom. Dom had successfully learned how to bring his claws out and put them back in, but was struggling with how to get his eyes to stop shining.

Peter’s phone chimed with an incoming text. At the sight of the name, Peter’s face lost all color.

Dom’s claws unsheathed of their own accord at the sight of his mate’s distress. “What is it?”

Peter gulped. “It’s Lydia.”

Stiles laughed. “Aren’t you going to read it?”

“Uh, I don’t think so.” He shook his head, looking like he might vomit.

Dom cocked his head to the side suspiciously. “Peter, what did you do?”

Peter cleared his throat. “I might have… roared at her earlier.”

Stiles’ eyes widened with glee. “You roared? At Lydia? Oh, you are so dead.” He clutched his stomach and tried to keep from falling off his chair with laughter.

Dom just shook his head at Peter. “Why on earth you would roar at Lydia, of all people?”

Peter frowned. “Well, she came into your room this morning and I was a little on edge. I didn’t hear her coming, and you still hadn’t woken up yet!”

Dom joined Stiles in laughter for a brief moment. “Did you figure out what she wanted? Or did you just roar as soon as she opened the door?”

Peter closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. “She waited for me to finish, then told me she just wanted me to know that she didn’t feel the need to scream, so you were probably going to be ok.”

Stiles whistled lowly. “Yeah, you have some serious groveling to do.”

Shaking his head forlornly, Peter opened the text. “It’s her coffee order. I should go… get that…”

He and Dom stood up. 

“We’ll call Kira and Malia on the way. They’ll want an update on everything,” Dom told Stiles, still fighting a smirk at Peter’s misfortune. 

They left shortly after that, and Stiles rejoined Laura and Ana in the living room.

When the movie was over, Laura stood up and stretched. Glancing at her watch, she sighed. “Alright, I gotta go in for my shift or my boss is going to fire me.” She headed out the door with a chuckle, leaving Stiles and Ana alone on the couch.

“So what do you think?” He asked Ana. “Should we make some lunch?”

Ana nodded and sprung up off the couch. The two made enough food for Talia, Derek, and Emily as well, who emerged from upstairs about half an hour later. 

Derek took Emily on a tour of the house and grounds after they ate, while Talia caught Stiles up on what they had discussed upstairs. 

Everything seemed to be in order. Emily apparently wanted to talk to Ana alone before she brought out the adoption papers, but she had told Talia and Derek confidentially that she saw no outward reason why the adoption couldn’t be finalized that afternoon.

Talia and Stiles settled into the kitchen and spread out a few toys and coloring books for Ana to amuse herself with while they played cards on the kitchen table by the windows.

The two of them kept sneaking furtive glances out the window, trying to see if they could spot Derek and Emily. Every once in a while, Talia would cock her head to the side as if trying to listen for them, but would shake her head at herself admonishingly and stopped after a few minutes. 

When Derek and Emily reappeared in the kitchen, Stiles tried very hard to read Derek’s face. Derek looked scared to death, but there was a little bit of hope peeking through his expression.

“Ok,” said Emily cheerfully. “Ana, do you want to come into the library and chat with me for a little bit?”

Ana looked up from her coloring book and squinted at Emily warily. “Can Papa Derek come with me?”

Derek melted at the name, and smiled down at Ana. “Not this time, but I’m sure Emily will let you bring your Isaac with you.” He nodded at her encouragingly.

Stiles jogged over to the couch to retrieve the stuffed animal and walked Ana over to the library doors with Emily. 

“This shouldn’t take too long,” Emily assured them as Stiles passed the wolf to Ana. “Just a few routine questions.”

She closed the door and Stiles sprinted over to the kitchen table, where Derek had just collapsed onto one of the chairs. 

“How did it go?” Stiles asked him eagerly.

Talia stood up to get Derek some water. “I’m sure everything was fine,” she said encouragingly when Derek didn’t respond right away. 

Derek nodded slowly. “I think it went ok.” He frowned. “She asked me a lot of questions about Boyd and Erica, though.”

He slumped further into his chair and buried his face in his hands. “They died on my watch, how could she possibly give me a child?”

Stiles and Talia locked eyes over the table. Talia decided to take that one and crouched down in front of her son, prying his hands away from his face.

“Derek, darling. You are an incredible Alpha, and a wonderful son. I’m sure she can see that. And, really, wouldn’t you be more worried if she hadn’t asked those kinds of questions? It’s a good sign that she’s being thorough.”

Derek pouted, but gave his mother a begrudging smile. She stood up to full height and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

The three sat quietly at the table while they waited for Emily and Ana to finish talking.

About forty five minutes later, Emily opened the door and Ana ran out, straight to Derek. He picked her up and settled her on his lap, looking up at Emily curiously as Ana began to pick up where her coloring had left off.

“Ok, Derek,” said Emily, smiling. “You ready to sign some papers?”


	53. You know, my daughter

Derek seemed almost overwhelmed with joy. His face was lit up with excitement, and it was hard to tell if he was bouncing, or if it was Ana on his lap.

“Really?” Was Derek’s first response. He chuckled at himself and shook his head. “I mean, yes! Yes, I’m ready to sign.”

Emily laid out the paperwork and went over everything one more time.

Stiles took Ana into the living room with her coloring book while Talia stayed behind with Emily and Derek.

“Since there is no father on record, this should be fairly straightforward,” Emily told Derek as Stiles walked away with Ana.

Stiles tuned out the rest and sat on one of the armchairs with a sigh. Shaking his head, he thought back on the last month and a half of his life and wondered how the hell he had gotten to where he was.

The rest of the pack came back slowly throughout the rest of the afternoon. Emily left with promises to check in a few times over the next month or so to see how Ana was settling into her new life with the pack.

As soon as Derek had shut the door, he turned around and sprinted towards Ana, scooping her up and holding her in the air above his head. The two laughed as Derek spun them around and around.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Laura and Isaac slipped out quietly during the celebration to go and buy some party favors for the adoption party they were going to throw Ana and Derek that night.

Derek stopped spinning and looked around, grinning like a lunatic. “Hey, Boyd!” 

Boyd laughed at his Alpha, but played along. “Yes, Derek?”

“Have you met Ana?” He asked with his eyebrows raised, pointing at the giggling little girl in his arms. “You know, my daughter?”

The pack erupted into laughter at the sight of Derek being goofy, which Stiles had to admit, was a new look on him. 

“Papa?” Ana got Derek’s attention once he had stopped spinning them. 

Derek’s eyes lit up and his chest puffed out proudly. “Yes, Ana?”

“Since I got ‘dopted, does that mean I get a new ‘doption ward – wardrobe?” She fumbled through the last word.

Derek put her down and squinted at her playfully. “Hmm, that depends. Who told you to ask me that?”

Ana just shook her head. “Auntie Lydia told me not to tell you.”

Lydia hung her head exasperatedly and moved forward to take Ana’s hand. “We’ll work on the stealthy thing while we’re shopping. Erica, you coming?”

Erica bounded off the couch and walked over to the two standing by the door. “Anyone else want to join?” She asked the room.

Scott and Allison exchanged thoughtful looks and stood up as well.

“Oh, no,” said Erica, pointing at the two of them. “You guys are insufferable when you’re with Ana. I can practically feel you picking out future baby names.”

“Hey, we’ll be good, I promise,” pouted Scott.

Lydia looked him over for a minute. “Fine, you and Allison can get her bedding and stuff for her room. Erica and I will be in charge of her clothes.”

“Deal,” agreed Allison with a laugh. She took Ana’s hand while Lydia skipped innocently over to Derek. He gave her his credit card with a fake put-upon sigh and smiled when she rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

The party that night went off without a hitch; Ana loved being the center of attention and Derek would never admit it, but he loved opening presents.

As the party wound down and everyone began to clean up, Derek sat in the living room with Ana on his lap, surrounded by Stiles, Laura, and Jackson.

“Hey,” Stiles said suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Laura, you never did tell me why you call Derek ‘Bun,’ did you?”

Derek smiled, which drew Ana’s attention to his mouth. “Is it ‘cause he’s got bunny teeth?” She asked Laura innocently.

Jackson howled with laughter, shaking in his chair.

“Derek, your daughter’s a genius,” Laura told him through her own laughter. “Yes, sweetie, that’s exactly why I call him that.”

Ana puffed up proudly, completely oblivious to the mock-glare Derek was sending towards Jackson.

“You better watch it,” he told his beta. “You’re dating my little sister and my best friend, so I’d be extra nice to me if I were you.”

Jackson stifled his laughter somewhat, but his eyes remained alight with mirth. 

“Hey, Ana,” Stiles said, catching the little girl’s attention. “Did you know Jackson was adopted, too?”

Ana’s eyes lit up as she whipped her head around to look at Jackson. “You are? That’s so cool!” She hopped down from Derek’s lap and sprinted towards the wolf, running into his knees in her haste. 

“It is?” He asked her, lifting Ana up onto his lap obediently.

“Uh huh,” she nodded fervently. She proceeded to tell Jackson all the reasons why being adopted was awesome, until Jackson’s face was soft in a way Stiles had never seen it before.

One by one, the pack went off to sleep, some still nursing their wounds, but all happy. 

Derek and Stiles paused outside Ana’s door after putting her to bed. 

“I can’t believe how happy I am, Stiles,” confessed Derek quietly.

Stiles just smiled at him, shaking his head in wonder. “After all that’s happened, I never thought I’d be happy again. Now, look at everything we have.”

Derek took Stiles’ hand and led him to their room. They went through their nightly routines silently and collapsed onto the bed, facing each other.

“It’s crazy how much I love you,” Stiles whispered, running his hand up and down Derek’s arm. 

Derek leaned in and pressed their lips together. Stiles groaned as the kiss became more heated and pulled away in frustration. 

“I know,” Derek chuckled, “But only 42 more days until we don’t have to stop ourselves anymore.”

Stiles’ eyes widened. “You counted? How is it possible for me to love you more than I already do?”

“You’re not so bad yourself, you know,” Derek replied, pulling the boy to his chest and rolling onto his back to settle into a more comfortable sleeping position. 

“I love you,” he whispered into Stiles’ hair, placing a soft kiss on the top of his head as he closed his eyes. 

The next few weeks passed without incident. School ended and Emily came by a few times with copies of all the paperwork and to make sure Ana was settling in alright.

Talia wanted to wait for the month’s worth of festivities surrounding Dom’s transition until after the full moon, so the pack and Dom could fully enjoy all of the activities as werewolves.

When the night of the full moon came, there was palpable excitement in the air. Stiles, Boyd, and Laura prepared the traditional full moon dinner, after which Talia, Derek, and Scott officially welcomed Grady, Wallace, and Keith into the pack. 

The three were so overcome with emotion, it took both Lydia and Boyd to coax Keith out of the library for the full moon run.

They waited until midnight struck to begin their run, since Liz had told them that’s when the spell would break.

Derek had agreed to let Ana stay awake just this once, so she was posted up on one of the patio chairs with the rest of the humans watching their wolves regain their werewolf status.

It happened suddenly. Stiles heard the clock inside the house chime midnight, and all of the wolves suddenly doubled over in pain. The pain lasted only a few seconds, and soon they had all recovered and looked up towards the moon. 

Stiles was delighted to see the colors in their eyes. Peter and Dom’s golden eyes locked on each other before Dom took off into the forest. Peter howled happily and ran off after him.

Talia, Scott, and Derek looked around at their pack, red eyes glowing brightly. Talia shifted fully and ran over to Ana, who laughed and threw her little arms around the wolf’s neck.

Stiles glanced around and saw that Jackson was looking down at the ground. He approached the wolf cautiously, frowning in confusion. When they were a few feet apart, Stiles suddenly realized what had caused the negative reaction. Jackson looked up slowly, his blue eyes glowing brilliantly in the dark.

Lydia and Allison, who had watched Stiles curiously as he approached Jackson, had clearly caught on to what was making Jackson feel so self-conscious. The two exchanged mischievous glances, cupped their hands to their mouths, and wolf whistled at the boy.

“What’s cookin’, good lookin’?” Allison shouted, earning a small smile from Jackson.

“How you doin’, blue eyes?” Lydia crooned with a smirk.

Jackson chuckled shyly. He was so distracted, he didn’t see Cora running at him until she had already tackled him to the floor. Allison and Lydia hooted and hollered at the two as they wrestled until they took off into the forest.

Erica, Boyd, and Isaac grabbed Wallace and Keith and sprinted off after them, leaving Grady and Laura with the Alphas on the front lawn.

Laura ran over to Grady and planted a smacking kiss right on his lips before running off into the forest. Grady howled with glee and raced after her.

Talia licked a wet stripe up Ana’s face, eliciting a happy squeal from the girl, and ran back to meet up with Derek and Scott in front of the porch. The three shined their red eyes at one another, then took off howling into the night, after their pack.


	54. Quite a pack

The morning after the full moon run found Stiles in bed at the Hale house, wrapped snugly in Derek’s arms. He turned around and was surprised to see Derek still in his beta from. 

Stiles chuckled to himself and traced the area of Derek’s face where his eyebrows were supposed to live.

The ministrations woke Derek slowly. The man smiled when he realized what had disrupted his sleep, and he leaned forward to kiss Stiles without opening his eyes. 

They exchanged lazy kisses for a few minutes, before Derek shifted back from his beta form and stood up, stretching the previous night’s run out of his bones. 

After getting ready for the day, the two headed downstairs to start making breakfast for the pack. Knowing the wolves would be especially tired after the long run, Derek put on a few extra pots of coffee while Stiles started the bacon and eggs. 

Stiles was joined at the stove a few minutes later by a Derek-shaped barnacle that attached itself to the boy’s back.

At some point during their morning routine, Ana had woken up. Derek smiled into Stiles’ shoulder blade when he heard the telltale slapping of little girl feet against the hardwood. He freshened up his coffee mug and got settled into the comfy armchair in the living room, knowing his daughter would fall asleep on his lap only moments after arriving on the main floor.

Ana looked around for Derek as soon as she had fully descended the staircase. She made a beeline for him once she spotted him, only stopping to nudge Stiles’ hip with her head in her own silent version of ‘good morning.’

The rest of the morning passed quietly, with everyone waking up and coming down to eat on their own time. When Grady, Wallace, and Keith made their way downstairs, Stiles made a point of giving the three of them extra bacon.

Stiles was surprised when Talia walked through the front door, rather than down the stairs. He raised his eyebrow at her in question while he made her a plate. His second eyebrow joined the first when his mother trailed Talia through the door.

“Hey, mom, what are you doing here?” He asked as he fixed her something to eat.

“I picked her up on my way home,” Talia responded.

“Your way home from where?” Derek chimed in quietly with Ana still sleeping on his lap.

Talia sat at the table and dug into her breakfast with a grateful nod towards Stiles. “I dropped Laura off at the station this morning because I needed to talk to John about something.”

Stiles stopped cooking and spun around to face Talia, almost spilling the food off of his mother’s plate in the process. “Is everything ok?”

Talia smiled. “Everything’s fine, dear. We’re going to be starting Dom’s month-long transition celebrations today, and I wanted to warn him about some of the ceremonies that might get a little loud, so he wouldn’t be alarmed if some noise complaints came in on those days.”

Stiles nodded and turned off the stove. “So what’s my mom doing here?”

Talia and Claudia exchanged smiles. “Well,” Claudia began, addressing the rest of the betas in the room. “Talia and I thought it might be a good idea for us to start talking to you all about what colleges you’ll be applying to in a couple of months.”

“Mooooooms,” Erica whined from the couch.

“None of that, young lady,” Talia mock-chided. “You’re all out of school now, and we want you to have your applications done before the start of your senior year.”

Jackson snorted and took a smug sip of his coffee. 

“You too, Jackson,” said Claudia. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this one.”

Jackson frowned. “But… but I live in London. Why would I apply to colleges in the states?”

“Baby, you hated London,” Lydia reminded him, slipping under his arm on their shared love seat. “Do you really want to go back?”

“I mean, I guess I just never really thought about it,” he admitted.

“So it’s settled, then. You’re staying,” decided Isaac with a grin.

Talia smiled proudly at her pack before addressing Jackson directly. “Darling, why don’t you come with me and Claudia to pick out some things for your room after we’re all finished with our college talk?”

Jackson ducked his head and nodded shyly with a smile. 

Derek scooped up Ana and left them to their talk, taking the sleeping girl outside to the back porch swing. 

Stiles joined them only minutes later. “I already had the whole college discussion with my parents a few weeks ago,” he told Derek’s questioning eyebrow.

Derek bit his lip and looked down at Ana, who had begun to snore softly. “And what did you decide?”

The boy smiled and rested his head on Derek’s shoulder. “I’ve decided to stay local. I’m applying to a few colleges out of state, but my top choices are Berkeley, UCLA, and BHCC.”

Derek sighed. “Stiles, you can’t go to Beacon Hills Community College. You need to be at a school that challenges you, or you’ll go insane.”

“Yeah, but I can write my own ticket at BHCC. They’ll let me design my own curriculum, and with my advanced classes, I could start as a sophomore there.” Stiles leaned back to fix Derek with a strange look. “Don’t you want me to stay close?”

“Stiles, of course I want you to stay close. But more than that, I want you to do what’s right for you. And if that means you go to the East Coast for four years to get a high quality education, then that’s what you should do.”

“Good answer, Sourwolf,” Stiles replied with a peck to Derek’s cheek. 

Derek just shook his head fondly at Stiles and readjusted Ana, who had started to slide down his lap a little.

“So for real, then, what are your top choices?” 

Stiles sat up in his seat proudly. “Well mom and dad think that with my GPA, I could get into MIT, George Washington, or Stanford. But I was serious about Berkeley, too. It’s a great school and it’s only 45 minutes away.”

Derek nodded, and they spent the next hour talking about Stiles’ options and potential majors. 

Ana woke up a little later and Stiles brought her inside to get her something to eat, leaving Derek outside to enjoy the sun. Stiles passed Peter in the kitchen, who was leading the newest pack members out back.

Derek watched as Peter explained to Dom, Grady, Wallace, and Keith what the first day of celebrations would entail. 

Usually, the celebrations would only be for Dom, but since the other three had just been officially declared members of the pack, Dom happily agreed to combine a few of their nights of celebration that were usually thrown for new members.

Peter took the four of them over to the shed to give them their instructions. The first day of celebrations started with a scavenger hunt for the new member, or in their case, members, of the pack. They would have to use their heightened senses of sight and smell to find clues spread all over town.

When the celebrations were initially created, this first day was a way to demonstrate to the rest of the pack that their new wolf was adept enough to add strength and stability to the pack. 

The Hale pack was using it as a way to kind of mess with the four newest members by hiding horrible-smelling items throughout Beacon Hills.

There was, however, one special clue hidden somewhere in town that was just for Dom. 

Peter had pulled aside Talia, Derek, Scott, Laura, Cora, and Stiles a few days prior to the full moon to ask for their assistance in this task. They had all agreed enthusiastically, and spent the next few days doing their parts to get everything ready. 

The clue, hidden by Stiles and Cora in the grocery store where Peter and Dom had first met, directed Dom to the local tailor, where Derek and Scott helped him get fitted for a tuxedo.

After that, Laura and Talia pulled up in a limo to take Dom back to the Hale house, where the backyard had been transformed into a small party area. 

There was a hardwood dance floor surrounded by tables and chairs, and the whole area was lit up by lantern lights strung up by magic.

With Talia on one arm and Laura on the other, Dom was led to the dance floor, to where Peter was waiting in the middle, all dressed up and sweating bullets.

The two women let go of Dom and ran off to the house where the rest of the pack was watching not so sneakily through the wall of windows in the kitchen. 

The wolves had promised Peter they would turn their ears off, but that didn’t stop them all from watching as Peter got down on one knee and asked Dom to marry him.

They couldn’t hear Dom’s response, but they saw him sweep Peter off of his feet and pull him into a passionate kiss. The pack erupted with joy, cat calling and wolf whistling throughout the kitchen. 

The two men separated momentarily and then embraced, both softly crying through their smiles.

Not willing to wait any longer, Erica burst through the doors yelling, “Can we come out, now?”

Dom laughed and nodded, and the pack descended upon the two betrothed wolves, offering congratulations, hugs, and very manly shoulder claps.

Later that night, after everyone had worn themselves out celebrating and dancing, Stiles and Derek lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. They were both smiling blissfully with their fingers intertwined under the covers, perfectly content to be with each other in silence.

After a few minutes, Stiles turned to Derek and curled into his wolf with a happy sigh.

“So, who do you think will be next to get married, after Peter and Dom?” Stiles asked Derek.

Derek frowned in thought before chuckling. “Erica and Boyd, without a doubt.”

Stiles’ shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Aw, man, you’re probably right. Well, Scott and Allison might beat them…” he trailed off with pursed lips. “I’d be surprised if they made it past graduation before Scott pops the question.”

Derek hummed happily in agreement. “We have quite a pack, don’t we?”

Stiles sighed into Derek’s shoulder, nuzzling his way into a more comfortable sleeping position. “Yeah,” he yawned. “We really do.”

Two weeks later, on the night of Stiles’ 18th birthday, Laura kept her word and diverted the Sheriff and all his Deputies away from the noise complaints they received in the area. 

Laura burst through the door the morning after, before Stiles and Derek had even woken up. Stiles just rolled over and went back to sleep, not bothering to cover himself. Derek on the other hand, yelped and rushed to cover both of them with the comforter that had fallen off the bed at some point the night before.

“Where’s my thank you present?” Laura demanded with a wicked grin, taking in the sight in front of her.

Derek glared, attempting to shoo her out of the room ineffectively from where he sat on the bed. “It’s at the loft, Laura, get out of here!”

She giggled and clapped her hands together with glee before turning and running out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Stiles peeked out from underneath the covers with one eye open. “What’s at the loft?”

Derek rubbed his eyes sleepily, turning over to face Stiles. “Grady. He’s going to ask her to move in with him. I told him they could have the loft since I haven’t lived there in a while.”

“Aww, Romanticwolf.” Stiles crooned, planting a kiss on the tip of Derek’s nose.

Derek chuckled. “Yeah, don’t get used to it,” he said as he closed his eyes. He opened them suddenly. “Actually, you should definitely get used to it. I’m going to romance the hell out of you.”

Stiles laughed and tucked his head against Derek’s chest. “Good,” he said through a yawn, closing his eyes and snuggling in closer to his wolf. “I’m looking forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's finally finished! THANK YOU to everyone who stuck with me while this was a WIP. Especially my sister, who put up with my craziness while I was writing and gave me incredible feedback on every chapter before it was posted.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr here:
> 
> [Insecure-Neurotic-Control-Freak](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/insecure-neurotic-control-freak)


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